


Second Chances

by Lusa_chi



Category: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, DC Extended Universe, DCU (Comics), Justice League (2017), Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Bottom Lex, First Time, M/M, Manipulative Lex, Possessive clark kent, Time Travel, Top Clark Kent, Topping from the Bottom, Unresolved Sexual Tension, World Domination
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-02-18 08:32:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 20
Words: 41,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21541396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lusa_chi/pseuds/Lusa_chi
Summary: Time Travel Fix-it. Lex POV. Featuring a dark/hyper-intelligent Lex and a much darker Clark Kent.The Superman who Batman brought back from the grave was without a conscience---leading to the end of the world as we know it. Lex, who was very displeased by Superman's destruction of the Earth he wanted to conquer, accidentally found out Batman and the Flash's to go back in time to stop Superman's resurrection.Like a true Luthor, he uses the time travel science to further his own plans.
Relationships: Clark Kent/Lex Luthor
Comments: 59
Kudos: 314





	1. Mother

_Alternate Universe (AU)_

Nine-year-old Lex stared calmly at the crackling fireplace as he ignored the angry screaming in the next room.

His nursemaid, Kelly, if he remembers her name right, was sitting next to him on the plush sofa, knitting and effortlessly ignoring what was happening in the next room. Despite the fact that Kelly was also one of his father's lovers, Lex did not hate her as much as he hated his own mother. Maybe because she was sane and did what clever enough to do what was best for her. In this case, taking care of him while his parents screamed at each other from the next room about Lilian's attempt to kill his baby brother Julian.

His father always rewarded obedience and punished those who disobeyed. For Kelly's obedience, she would probably get a raise, especially since she was the one who "discovered" Lilian when she was strangling baby Julian and stopped her after calling for help. 

As for his mother, Lex guessed that she would be shipped off to the closest psychiatric hospital for the next couple of weeks and return by Thanksgiving. Lionel would not divorce her. His father, no matter how ruthless, was hopelessly in love with her. Ironically, it was his love that lead to her madness. Lilian Luthor never loved her husband, forced to marry him, ex-fiancé killed in front of her, and repeatedly cheated on her despite his exclaimations of love. Lex supposed that was enough for a woman to go insane and attempted to kill her own sons, product of her hatred for Lionel Luthor. 

One day, he might help Lilian kill his father but not yet. He still had some growing up to do.

Scratching his nose, Lex yawned before pulling his blanket closer around him. "When do you suppose they'll stop yelling at each other?"

Kelly paused in her knitting, doe-brown eyes hiding the intelligence underneath. "Not long now, would you like a cup of milk?" Lex got to give it to his father for his taste in women. Kelly was smart and willing to do what it takes to secure her position with the Luthor, and despite being terrified of Lex, has only shown respect in her eyes when he came to her to make a deal---promises of power and a life of riches for her hiding changes in his behavior the past several days and protect Julian. 

"That would be nice," Lex commented. "But no, I believe that after such _trauma_ , I should be in exhausted and in bed. With _nightmares_ for the next several days."

Tilting her head, and for a moment, respect flickered in her eyes before returning to the dumb and naïve gaze she always look at men with, Kelly finished her knitting and set it on the coffee table. "Of course. I'll fetch your pajamas."

...

**_Original Universe (OU)_ **

President Alexander Luthor tapped his finger contemplatively at the satellite images and the accompanying report on his desk. It was taken from one of the last thermal satellites left the US owned, and one of the last in the world. Most were destroyed by Superman but after a 10 minute meeting and a brutal fucking later, Lex convinced him that it was in his best interests to have some satellite orbiting Earth, maintaining communications and outer space sensors, etc. 

The photographs illustrated the thermal images of what was thought to be Batman and the Flash, working on a machine that his spies have deducted to be a _time-traveling machine_ , one powered by the Flash's secondary ability to slow-down and sometimes reverse time. The report was less detailed than he would like, but only a few across the world can understand the quantum physics and only two worked for him currently. 

And like a true Luthor, Lex knew when to seize the opportunity when it so prettily fall into his lap. 

Not that he didn't enjoyed having an insane Superman at his disposal...but he didn't really have Superman at his disposal. Like a mad dog, the super-powered alien went after anything that annoyed him and anyone who defied him. Half of Russia and China's landmass have already been decimated because they refused to bow to Earth's new dictator. Africa had armies but they were a drop of water in an Ocean. Europe and the US opted for a more "peaceful" solution, bowing to _his_ whims and did the best they could, especially after what's left of Justice League went underground. 

Lex sighed, stacking the reports and slipped them into the green and gold Kryptonite lined safe that kept it out of Superman's reach.

"Charity, call Dr. Sherman, I'd like him in my office in ten minute." Lex said, holding the red button on his office phone for his secretary. 

Ten minutes later, he had Dr. Sherman in his office and quick notes was passed between them to avoid detection of a new plan to save the world. 

...

**_AU_ **

The next few days passed quickly as Lilian, as Lex expected, was shipped off to Metropolis Psychiatric Hospital. Lionel had moved Julian and Lex out of the Luthor manor into an expensive penthouse in downtown Metropolis, closer to LuthorCorp where he could keep an eye on them. Kelly came with them, now nursemaid to both boys now. A smug grin on her face when she was the only servant that he has moved from the manor made Lex almost giggled. Despite how much Kelly wanted to, Lionel would never divorce their mother and even after she died, Lionel never remarried again. Least of all a simple nursemaid who cannot offer him power, wealth, nor means to further his ambitions. 

Well, one must have dreams, Lex thought as he placed down his father's copy of the _Art of War_. 

Fortunately, most of her attention was now on Julian and Lex was more than content with his father's library at his disposal. Too bad it would look suspicious on their security cameras if he was to enter his father's study and access his home computer. He would have to wait until he was at Excelsior next fall, which was more than a whole year away. 

Lex pondered if he had enough patience to wait until then and when Lionel came home that afternoon, he decided not. 

Putting on his most innocent smile, Lex greeted his father at the doors. "Father."

A younger Lionel looked almost relieved to see his oldest as he handed his assistant his briefcase. They spoke about the day as Lex trailed him to the study, putting on his best behavior, which was the easy part. The harder part was trying to act his age which made appreciate all the more that his father expected him to act mature beyond his years---made his adult-like behavior or his Luthorian attitude, all the more reasonable. 

During dinner, his request to join his father at LuthorCorp HQ the next day was granted. Lex got the feeling that his father was amused by his request but that did not stop him. With his arrival at LuthorCorp everyday, Lex had access to his own computer with internet access, which was aggravatingly slow as it was useful. With knowledge of an evil mastermind beyond his years and despite the _dial-up internet_ (Lord help him), he successfully set up several oversea bank account in different countries across Europe and several shell companies both oversea and in the US, and began trading stocks. 

Within a month, he had amassed over 10 million USD. By Christmas, he had several hundred millions at his disposal, safely stored away in different banks under several untraceable identities across the world. 

As for his father, the man was easily impressed and surprised, as he should be. Lex was the perfect cross between a naïve nine-year-old and a financial genius, something none of his private tutors have hinted at. He was also a child and often overlooked at meetings, ignored after the first greetings by his father's associates, which made stealing company secrets devastatingly easy. His father appreciated his work by promising a trip to Japan after New Years. 

On Christmas, much to Lex's disappointment though he has been expecting it, they moved back to Luthor Manor and his mother had arrived home, heavily medicated and slightly less dangerous. Lilian looked thin, almost gaunt, and paler than he had ever seen her, blonde hair without it's shine and lifeless eyes. 

Seeing the glint of insanity behind those dulled blue eyes however, Lex moved slightly behind father and pulled Kelly who was holding Julian behind him. 

His father merely patted his back soothingly.

Dinner was somber affair with Lilian barely eating and Lex ignoring both of his parents in favor of his favorite Italian clam risotto. If his father did not listen to him, then he would just have to wait until his mother tried to murder him or his brother _again_. 

Lex did not have to wait long. Two days after New Years and a day before their flight to Okinawa, his mother attempted to smother Julian in his crib, this time Lex did not call for Kelly, opting for screaming his head off while tackling his mother. Julian survived, but not after a few nights in the pediatric ICU for severe hypoxic brain damage. His mother was committed indefinitely to Metropolis Psych. 

Two months later, he received news of his mother's suicide by overdosing on medications stolen from her ward-mates over a whole month. 

At her funeral, Lex buried his face against his father's legs and sobbed, tears initially forced was mixed with real ones as he mourned for the death of his mother for the first time in both of his lives. 


	2. Family

**_AU_ **

As his English professor droned on and on about Malthus and the economists late 1800s, Lex idly wondered why he had bother sending himself as far back as he did. 

Perhaps it was some naïve desire for garnering his father's love or how different their relationship might have panned out if he never took the fall for his Julian's murder. Or perhaps it was a chance to have another sibling that did not want him dead, someone to share the Luthor name.

Nevertheless, he was now fourteen, meaning his attendance was still required in all his major classes at Excelsior Academy unless his guardian says otherwise. The plus was that despite being bald, a little eerily smart, and son of billionaire Lionel Luther, no one bullied him. Heck, half of the school including the professors bowed to his whims and the other half just stayed out of his way. 

His father, as it turns out, was still a cold, manipulative bastard after his mother's deaths. He still pushed Luthorian work ethics on his sons, required perfection out of everything they did, and was never satisfied even when Lex scored top marks in his class, in a class filled with kids three years older than he was. The only thing that changed was that he did not blame Lex for the death of Julian and his mother. Unfortunately, he blamed Julian, a little boy who did not understand why his father refused to hug him and refused to talk to him unless it was to reprimand him, for the death of Lilian Luthor. 

No. Nothing was ever Lionel's fault, even when he could have saved his wife by divorcing her and let her live her own life. 

Kelly, being the good little nursemaid that she was, discretely moved the youngest Luthor out of sight when his father came home in a bad mood. And fortunately for Lionel, it was only cold words and reprimands, because Lex would never let the man get away with it and unlike his father, he would have enjoyed a little physical retribution. 

The bell finally rang, ending the last class of the semester, and Lex slowly cleaned up his books as teenagers wearing professionally pressed navy-blue uniforms with the golden crest of Excelsior on their right breast, spilled out into the hallways. A few jocks had their jackets off, but most had them on as weather turned cold in the coming Fall. 

Yet despite being a full head shorter than every one in his class, he moved smoothly through the crowd into the hallway. Polite smiles were exchanged with scions of the notable families and the rest scuttered out of his way, probably fearing retribution. In the last three years since he attended the academy, between exams to skip over year 1-4 (total of 7 years with students age 10-17), he managed to garder a reputation for being an underhanded bastard, often resorting to blackmail and hostile takeovers. Of course, that was only when another student crossed him or to prevent situations from getting out of hand. 

Lex never once went after someone who did not deserve it. He enjoyed the moral high ground and there was never any hint of illegal activity, not to mention proof. Even the braver ones has never found anything to hint that his methods were anything but legal. To those not in the know, he was a financial genius, someone to respect, who had a bleeding heart as public records of his profits went to charity or medical research.

In the hallway, he accidentally made eye-contact with a 17-year-old Oliver Queen, who grinned amicably at him before going back to whatever conversation about rugby with the jocks at his side. Ironically, his indifference to Queen's wealth and status had gotten him grudging respect from Queen, and after a physical altercation, from his goons. 

"Lex!" A male voice that was teetering on breaking puberty shouted into his ear as Duncan Allenmeyer tackled him. 

Pulling his backpack forward, Lex sidestepped his best friend as he returned the grin with an annoyed look. His friend looked way too happy with his blonde curls, sparkling dark eyes, and figure too scrawny to his voice. 

"Aww c'mon, don't be like that. Aren't you happy it's finally winter break?" Duncan chittered on, before throwing an arm over his shoulder. "Can't wait 'til I get home, my mum's chicken pot pie is to die for? You wanna come over tomorrow?"

Lex grunted in reply. "Maybe next week. Wanna go check on Julian. How's your sister doing?"

"My sister's doing good, just finished her chemotherapy in time for Christmas." Duncan frowned at the change in subject, grabbing Lex's arm. "Hey, you both wanna spend winter break at my house? I'm sure my mom would love to have you over."

"It's ok, it's Christmas. Lionel would be mad if we were both gone." Lex replied, tugging his arm out as he entered his dorm apartment he shared with Duncan. Both of their stuff was neatly packed. Lex only had one navy-black luggage bag sitting at the foot of his bed while several belonging to Duncan's sat on the other bed. 

"C'mon, please? My mom wants to thank you for the money you gave her for Dana's chemotherapy," Duncan pleaded, unloading half of his schoolbooks into his desk. "She'll make pecan-chocolate pie this year, it's your favorite!"

Lex rolled his eyes at the puppy stare Duncan was giving him and acquiesced. "I'll do my best, might be after New Year's."

"Yes!" Pumping his fist into the air triumphantly, Duncan did a little jump-twirl before returning to his packing.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, I said _might_ ," Lex said, shaking his head.

Duncan wrinkled his nose at him. "Psh, as if the great _Lex Luthor_ ever went back on his word."

…

Home for him right now was where Julian was, and unfortunately, that also meant sharing a home with Lionel Luthor at the Luthor Manor standing at the edge of Metropolis. The manor was surrounded by several acres of privately-owned land, with a pretentious and beautiful rose gardens in front and horse stables housing several award-winning stallions and mares. After passing through wrought-iron gates, the black limo stopped in front of the main entrance, where two and a half figures stood waiting. 

Watson, the manor's butler, dressed in his usual suit and tie, iron-gray hair slicked back and a warm smile on his face. Next to him was Kelly and hugging onto her leg was four-year-old Julian Luthor. Blonde-haired like their mother, eyes traditional Luthor grey-blue, was wide open in curiosity as the boy stared at him from behind Kelly. 

Lex pretended to not notice the boy as he handed his luggage and schoolbag to one of the staff before leading the way to the foyer. It was then that he felt a tug on the leg of his pants.

"Lex?" Julian sniffled, eyes impossibly large and nose red with unshed tears. 

"Yes?"

"You're ignoring me," the boy mumbled. 

"No I didn't, you did it first," Lex replied before picking up the boy into his lap as he settled onto the leather sofa by the windows in the foyer. It was his favorite, overlooking the gardens and not too far nor close to the fireplace. 

"No I didn't," Julian said stubbornly, wiping a wet nose on the school uniform. "I just wasn't sure it was you."

Patting his back obligingly, Lex settled Julian into his lap. "Of course it was me, who else would come home only to see you. Have you finished your lessons today?"

The four-year-old nodded a little too fast. 

Lex's gaze flickered to Kelly who nodded. "That's my little brother. Alright, if you promise to stay quiet while Kelly and Watson talk, we shall have McDonald's tomorrow morning for breakfast."

"I'll be quiet! Promise!"

Chuckling, Lex nodded for Watson to start. They reviewed the current staff, who left, and reasons for the turnover as well as reasons for hire. Extraneous news also included a mare that recently gave birth to a new foal---who was to be trained in time for Julian's first riding lesson, and a list of recent trespassers on their land.

Kelly then took over with a report of Lionel's comings and goings, and Watson made no comment as Kelly reported information gleaned form speaking with Lionel's assistant about his comings and goings from Gotham and Star City. Then Kelly moved onto Julian's reports of his latest visit from the family doctor (or rather the doctor came to the manor). 

"A whole three inches," Lex remarked, almost proudly as he dropped a kiss on his brother's forehead.

Julian beamed at him. 

True to form and much to the relief of both brothers, the first dinner since Lex's return was shared only by the brothers. After dinner, Julian settled by the fireplace with a set of Star Wars Legos in Lex’s room while Lex curled up on the sofa with his fleece blanket and his laptop. On half of the screen was the latest reports on the research into Kryptonian mineral rocks (not that anyone currently knew they were from Krypton) and the other half was a video chat with one of his assistants that kept an eye on one of his labs overseas.

The assistant was one of many---smart, resourceful, young, impressionable, and idealistic--- that he recruited straight out of graduation from Met U. He had several like him, running his shell companies, money laundering, secret research facilities, and another team of public figures that did nothing but do the same...only less illegal and purely to boost Lex's public image if someone decides to look into it. 

He also had several people installed into his father's company, just to keep an eye on things. Lionel Luthor was only predictable when things were going his way and Lex wanted his father ignorant of his workings until he was at least legal. 

At 9 PM, he had Kelly took Julian into bed and crawled into bed for a few more hours of rereading the results from his latest batch of research. 

Who knew red Kryptonian mineral rocks causes accelerated healing in some and cellular degradation in others? Or why green ones causes mutations only in expressed DNA rather than un-expressed DNA? Interesting ideas and thoughts for further research to be explored a few years from now, when more mutants surface for study and technology become a little bit more advanced than _dial-up_. His father would be outraged by the information Lex had at his fingertips. 

As for how his own DNA was mutated by the meteor rocks, he preferred to keep that to himself and it was not his fault if people assumed making him bald was the _only_ effect. 

Sleep took him soon after closing his laptop and he dreamt of gray skies and unmarked graves. 

…

The first Winter snow was falling the next morning so Lex decided to drag Julian back to bed for another two hours before getting up and dressed for their trip into Metropolis downtown. 

Checking his itinerary, Lex noted a meeting with his father later that afternoon to discuss his oncoming graduation, and opted for old and well-fitting jeans and his softest cashmere sweater. It was just casual enough to infuriate his father but expensive enough for his father not to comment, at least not publicly. Lex was only fourteen after all though he might not go with the black on black on black suit and tie this time around. His public image might also improve if he wore more...comfortable, down-to-earth, clothing.

A quick trip to McDonald’s satisfied Julian and their chaufer, Abraham, dropped both of them off at LuthorCorp HQ in Metropolis downtown. From the footsteps of the building, the bronze globe of the Daily Planet was visible if one strains their neck. 

Kelly also exited the limo and accepted Julian from Lex. 

"Be good for Kelly and stay out of the deep side of the pool until I get back. Won't be long." Lex promised as they entered the building. 

He took the private elevators to the second to top floor and exited, waiving Samantha (his father's head of the legion of men and women that was his secretary) who was sitting at the front desk. He pushed through the glass doors and found his father sitting across from a familiar face. 

Lex arched an eyebrow at his father who was not surprised to see him. He nodded when the older man waived him towards the sofas on the other side of the room with a direct view out of the balcony. 

"Ms. Lang, you know as well as I do that there's nothing else we can do for Mr. McCallum, LuthorCorp is not a charity," Lionel said, rising from his chair. "I apologize for your loss. Perhaps the DA can shorten his time since there is not much left?"

Nell Lang, as pretty as most women in the Lang family were, large brown eyes sad as her lips tightened. "Perhaps." She said tightly, shaking his hand, body language spoke of tightly reined anger. Lionel just have that effect on everyone. "Thank you for meeting with me."

Her heels clicked sharply as she left the office, almost slamming the doors behind her. 

"I'm surprised she didn't slap you," Lex commented. Not that he disapproved of his father's method of chasing away those who were not willing to give anything in exchange for their wealth or power. Lex would have been a bit gentler, they would probably reach a compromise, and Lex would walk having the advantage sooner or later. But to each his own methods. "What did she want?"

"Her great-uncle out of jail," Lionel replied. "Not sure what she was expecting me to do."

Lex inwardly scoffed. He would give his hand if his father did not own more than half of Metropolis Police Department. Outwardly, he nodded. "Well enough, now that she's gone, shall we discuss what happens after my graduation?"

…

A part of Lex truly enjoyed negotiating with Lionel--- the man was intelligent, knew how to read between the lines, and willing to hit his opponents with everything he got. He hated when he was the opponent, however, because he also disliked to lose and a part of him _hated_ losing to his father. That probably stemmed from years and years of his father beating the principles of war down his throat. But he was not Lionel, who had nothing he cared about except himself, Lex had things to protect and he was willing to go to any length to protect those he loves. 

In the end, they had agreed that Lex would spend the next four years part-timing at LuthorCorp as an Intern (Head) of Acquisition. Part-time because he would also enroll at Met U to get whatever degree _Lex_ deemed necessary. Afterwards, he was free to start his own company (not that Lex didn't already do this but Lionel doesn't have to know that).

Afterwards, he left his father to his next meeting and made his way down to the tenth floor where the public pools availed itself to employees and their families on any day of the week. Lex himself was a frequent visitor--- he wanted to make sure his image was that of a normal, down-to-earth, genius Heir to LuthorCorp. He was polite, adept at small talk, and more often than not willing to help those in need, making him a company favorite. His father had done nothing to change that image and probably does not expect his own son to shark-hunt at his company this early.

Lex was a fan of being underestimated especially by his father. 

By the time he changed into his trunks, there were a few stragglers by the pool. Two faces stood out, his brother's, floating on a yellow duck, and a familiar face of a 10-year-old girl with dark hair and ethereal black eyes. That gave Lex a split-second pause as he saw his ex-wife for the first time in several decades, not after she divorced him, convinced that he was evil incarnate. Hell, she believed he was evil before she married him, solely for the purpose of digging up all his dark dirty secrets and exposing them. By the end, he hated her as much as he loved her. 

Resisting the urge to facepalm himself, Lex made his way to his brother and plopped down next to the pool, keeping Julian between himself and Lana Lang. 

"Who you got there buddy?"

"Lexi," Julian chirped happily as he hit the water with his palms. "Lana Lana Lana, this is my brother Lex! Lex stands for Alexander the Great! He's going to conquer the world some day!"

Resisting the urge to facepalm his baby brother, Lex gave his brother an indulgent smile. Maybe Lana would not remember Julian's weird comment until Lex succeeded in conquering the world.

"Someday." He agreed and the girl gave him a hesitant smile. "Nice to meet you Lana."

They made small talk. After a few coaxing comments, the girl unknowingly revealed that she was here with her aunt, as expected, and that her aunt has left the building, promising to be back before five PM when the pool closes. They talked about Smallville between teaching Julian how to swim and doing laps around the pool. Lana's eyes sparkled and shine whenever Lex complemented her, her sincere and beautiful smile reminding him once again why he decided to married her despite her betrayal. His desire for her love for him to be _real_ blinded him to the fact that he did not love her more than a friend, and that he only saw him as the enemy. 

At four-thirty, Kelly arrived with their clothing and Lex waved their goodbyes to the only woman he ever loved beside his mother. 


	3. Start of an Empire

_** AU **_

He met Hope on a rainy afternoon in April, his second year of college. Lex almost didn't recognize her, with her brown curls plastered against latte-colored skin of her forehead and a healing purple bruise over her left eye. Her lip was split. Her clothes, a ragged t-shirt two sizes too big and ripped jeans, ends frayed and covered in stains. When he first met her, she was a kick-ass Amazonian-caliber Secret Service Agent with a steel gaze, warm heart, and loyal to a fault even after discovering what Lex's underground research. In the end, she chose to betray him, however, and he had to put her down. He had regretted doing so. Hope was one of the best bodyguards and assistant he ever had beside Mercy. 

At one point, she was able to take on Batman at hand-to-hand combat and manage to get up after Superman slammed her into the ground with only a few broken ribs and contused lung that healed within a few days. Probably a meta-human herself even if she does not know it. 

From what he remembered when he glossed over her files, she was a victim of domestic abuse and finally went into Witness Protection Program in 1999, which was a year from now, and sometime between 2003 and 2005, enrolled in the Secret Service under the name Hope Taya. 

Putting on his most empathetic face, Lex sat down next to her and made sure his umbrella covered her as well. 

After a few moments, Hope pulled her legs up to her chest and buried her face against herself, sobbing quietly. Her tears drowned out by the sound of rainfall. He waited as she cried and cried until the rain stops and they sat in companionable silence until his phone rang. He returned the text, ordering Abraham to pick him up at the diner across the street from Met U in an hour. 

"There's a diner a few blocks that way," Lex commented softly before heading off in the direction of the diner. "I'm hungry and you look like you could use something warm as well."

A couple of long seconds later, soft footsteps followed him down the rain-drenched sidewalk.

The diner itself was relatively new...and old if one was Lex Luthor, adequately sanitary, with amazing smoked bacon burger that would give Lex a heart attack by the time he was forty if it was not for the meteor shower. They took a seat in the corner and Lex handed Hope the menu. She looked curiously at him before taking it, scanning the menu with a grim face of someone that would rather be anywhere but here. 

"Don't worry, I'm not one for charity," Lex said. "My name is Alexander Luthor."

"I know who you are--"

Hope paused when a shadow fell over them and a waitress barely older than eighteen, with a bright smile and brighter blue eyes, asked them what they wanted for lunch. Lex opted for a chocolate milk shake and French fries. Hope, after some hesitance, ordered two bacon burgers with fries, onions, and pickles. 

"You can order more if you want." Lex grunted, hiding his amusement.

The Amazon gave him a suspicious glare and Lex grinned. "I'm good at reading people. And for the record, I'm CEO of LLC and have no loyalty to LuthorCorp despite my job. Yes, I'm also Lionel Luthor's son but that's beside the point. I want you to work for me."

"Why? What can I do?"

Lex gave her a dry look. "You look like a woman in need, and---" He traced his finger along the edge of the steak knife, pressing down and letting it draw blood before tilting his thumb up at her, watching her eyes widened in shock when the small cut disappeared. "I'm interested in what you will be able to do, if given the chance and I only take what you are willing to offer, nothing more. And you can quit at any time."

Their food came and Lex changed the conversation to the weather, the news, and even the classes he was currently in.

When he finished, he asked the waitress to pack up two more burgers to go for Hope and slide his business card across the table. "Call the number on the back,” he drawled. “Mel is in charge of recruitment and she'll set you up with housing and work-training...that suits you."

It was two days later when Melinda Warren, his Head of Recruitment whose daughter had leukemia, whose bone transplant was paid for in full by Lex, contacted him about Hope. As expected, after a series of testing, the woman whose name was now Hope Taya showed promise in hand-to-hand combat and small firearms. Mel then transferred to one of Lex’s holdings in the East Coast where his company ran a re-employment facility for veterans, which was true.

However, only about two-thirds of the employees or trainees were veterans and most of them from ex-special forces, marines, or black ops. About a third were mercenaries or would-be mercenaries that Lex had recruited anonymously, partly to make sure they did not stand in his way in the future, and partly because they were useful. Pawns that he would rather have on his side than working for his would-be enemies.

Furthermore, the facility made his company image both patriotic and charitable.

…

Three weeks later, he managed to track down Mercy Graves, who unfortunately had just graduated from the Secret Service a year prior and was working at one of the D.C. offices.

Unlike Hope, who had a conscience, Mercy was not so concerned with right and wrong. Her background was like Hope, orphaned at a young age, but unlike Hope, she lived off the streets of New York until she was old enough to get a job, got herself through community college. She would have graduated with a Physical Education degree if not for a bunch of idiots that decided to robe a man in a fancy suit. Turns out, he was a Secret Service Agent sent to New York to check out a lead on a possible terrorist cell that was targeting the President of the US.

The man in the fancy suit probably didn’t need to be saved, but Mercy saved him anyway and was offered a spot as SSA trainee. Mercy accepted and three years later, graduated as one of the best and brightest, with a few comments about exemplary for hand-to-hand combat, long-range weapons, and two reprimands for excessive use of force during training.

Sitting in a small office on the fifteenth floor of LuthorCorp HQ, Lex pondered idly to himself whether he should recruit Mercy Graves.

In his previous timeline, he met Mercy as a president candidate and after they survived a bombing at one of his fundraiser galas together, convinced her that he was worthy of her loyalty. At the time, he was a thirty-year-old charismatic politician that kept his words. Currently, he was a sixteen-year-old that was mildly charismatic, kept his words, but without reason for Mercy to follow him. And he didn’t quite need her, not yet. Some of his would-be enemies had not quite grown into themselves and he did not plan on being an enemy to Clark Kent.

While he was more than happy with Hope, the inner Luthor in him demanded that he do more, cover all his bases and made sure his future was secured. He was a control freak, perfectionist, and had the resources and time to prepare for the future.

So, he could have left Mercy alone for a few more years, but instead he made a few calls and set a few things into motion.

…

Lex did not mean to add Tina Greer to his growing army of 'assistants,' but she was too good to pass up. Especially after he watched her morph on the security tape outside one of his _legal_ research facility at the edge of Metropolis. 

The facility was responsible for a new drug on the market that specifically target a receptor on abnormal B cells, making it a novel drug in the treatment against a variety of B-cell lymphomas. What was unique about it was that the receptor it targets just have to be abnormal and dismisses the individual mutation, making it effective even if the cancer cells mutates. The drug was also several decades before it's time. 

The drug got his head researcher, Dr. Wallace, the 1999 Nobel Prize last year and added seven-point-seven billion dollars to LLC’s company stock. One of his many successful ventures since the creation of LLC. The additional benefit was that it drove his father crazy as LLC flourished and gained grounds against LuthorCorp and after buying out many of Lionel's smaller subsidiaries in South America, Lex bet his father would give his right arm to for the name of LLC's CEO/founder. But unlike he no longer had the drive to impress his father and rather liked manipulating things from the shadows. He also couldn't give his father the chance to make LLC become another mark of Luthor's pride.

As for Tina Greer, he only knew her in passing when Chloe Sullivan mentioned Clark’s newfound interest in the brunette and asked around the school about her.

The second time he saw her, she was a dead body in one of his father's lab. 

So call him interested.

Not only did she had the ability to become whoever she wants down to the last detail (fingerprints, eye pattern), the teenager was also an excellent investigator, managing to track down the 'company' that created the novel drug, though this was essentially public records, _and_ break into his facility with relative ease. If not for the newly installed cameras that looked like ceiling lights, she would have gotten away with it. 

Unlike Hope, Mercy, and many others, Lex could not approach Tina as he did because the girl was underage with a living guardian. Secondly, she was breaking into the facility because her sister was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma years ago, a variant of the genetic condition that gave her soft-bone disease, and the most recent bout of chemotherapy had only trashed her sister's liver. Prognosis was less than six months even if her liver could be salvaged. 

The Greer family needed help. 

After a few phone calls, he had set up a quiet sponsorship for several family's whose children was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma but could not afford treatment under one of his, or rather, LLC's many shell companies.

Two days later, Hope was dragging a very unwilling brunette girl into his office. Rainwater dripping on the plush red carpet of his office as his secretary passed by the set of high-end leather sofas by the fireplace to stand in front of his rosewood desk where Lex was currently working away on spreadsheet of data. The grip Hope has on her arm turned her fingers white and judging by the healing bruise look on Hope's right cheekbone, the ability to morph was not Tina's _only ability_.

"Super-strength?" Lex said after glancing at them, noting that he should get Hope a new suit. 

He looked out of place in the fancy office, wearing a pale gray beanie, designer button shirt, and dark blue jeans that emphasized the long, long legs stretched out beneath the table. The red Kryptonite stud on his left ear completed the outfit, which was a little more flashy than his norm but he just got back from a meeting with his father, who was still under the impression that he was an incorrigible teenager and his rebellious phase finally hit after graduating from Met U a year ago. His father wouldn't do anything to him quite yet, considering that the people in his company was still enthralled in the young genius Luthor that tripled their company stocks within 4 years. His father wanted him to stay on, even offer him a seat on the board, but Lex told him that he had 'better' things to do with his life. 

As a distraction, he did open an IT company that was making regular profits, nothing like LuthorCorp, but more so than most companies started up by new college graduates. 

"Let me go! This is illegal!" 

"No, breaking into my company is illegal," Lex replied. "Feel free to tie her up," he continued when the girl sneer at him. Insolent little thing.

Hope did and Lex returned to his computer, closing the file as he watched, from the corner of his eyes, surprise bloomed across the girl's face when she was unable to break titanium braided ropes he specifically had designed for metahumans. Hope leaned against his desk with satisfaction, bruise healed, though her current steel-gray suit was unsalvageable. It was one of his favorite, too, that he gifted her last year when they all went to Paris to oversee a hostile takeover of a car designer company.

"I'll let you go," Lex said, taking pity when the girl continued to struggle. "When you calm down. Or faster if you decided to answer a few questions for me."

She peered at him suspiciously before morphing into a younger girl that shared her features, ropes slipping off her small frame, and she made a dash for the door.

Lex almost rolled his eyes and Hope chuckled. A few moments later, Mercy came back in, dragging the girl now in her teenage form again, by the collar, while balancing a tray of tea on the other hand. She plopped the girl onto the sofa and fixed her with a glare that not even Lex dared defy even if he was her employer.

Beaming at Mercy, Lex quickly put away his laptop and joined them on the sofa. 

Hope and Mercy returned to their post at his office doors.

Pouring both of them a cup of tea, Lex have to give her credit for not being stupid enough to try running away again. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said after a sip. He took another sip. "You broke into my company, not once but _twice_. If you wanted something, you could have just asked to see me."

"You're the owner of Firestorm Pharmaceutical?" Tina replied with a frown.

"Oh Michael's the CEO, takes care of the daily business but he answers to me," Lex replied. "Did you homework, Tina, I'm impressed."

"You know my name," Tina blurted out in surprise.

"I did my homework too. You should be more careful, not everyone is like me and put a video of you morphing on front page news."

Before she an panic, "now don't panic. I'm not going to blackmail you or anything like that. Rather, I want to know what _you_ want to do with your life?"

"What?"

"Tina Greer. First of two children of Rose and Alex Greer. Your mother survived her childhood lymphoma and is currently in remission. Your sister, I believed was one of our sponsored children receiving the newest treatment for lymphoma. You yourself had soft-bone disease, in remission since age three, currently attending Smallville High. Thought to be a great student, loving sister, and an athlete. Secretly, you're not so normal, struggling to hid your gifts and doing your best not to hurt those around you while wondering why can't you be normal." 

Lex's voice had gone soft, sympathetic. "You're a bright girl, Tina. What do you want to do with your life?"

The girl stayed quiet, her eyes gone large and shining as she looked at him.

"But what you're going through, you're not alone. You've met Mercy and Hope." Lex continued, gesturing at his bodyguards/assistants. "You're unique and I like unique. That's why I helped your sister. So you wish for normalcy all you want but it was not because you were normal that your sister will be alright."

He set down the teacups.

Mercy approached them to take one of Tina's arm in her iron grip while Hope opened the doors. 

"Mercy will show you out. I'll see you later." 

Three days later, Tina enrolled as LLC's first high-school summer intern in one of his research labs. On her Career Plans/Aspiration spot of her questionnaire, she put 'I want to be myself, and in the future, myself will be a famous scientist.'


	4. Smallville

**_AU_ **

Being exiled to Smallville the second time, even if it was part of his plan and he was now very much immune to his father's _charms_ , still smarts a little. And, in a whimsical fit, he sent Hope and Mercy on ahead to get the manor ready while he enjoyed a private drive to Smallville. 

So here he was, alone, driving half-drunk after seven shots of vodka along the highway that led into Smallville, while muttering underneath his breath about buying out LuthorCorp. He could do it too. 

Much to his surprise, the roll of steel wires still broke off from the transport truck and sat conveniently sat in the middle of the road for him to run over. Then, the car spun out control and he accidentally ran over Clark Kent a second time, this time with a bit more vicious satisfaction at the crunch at the impact rather than panic. There's was no time to gloat as his Porsche and Clark went over the side of the bridge and landed in the water.

The impact almost knocked him out. Water rushed into his lungs and mouth before a he felt more than heard the roof of his Porsche being ripped off and then there was a hand on his collar dragging him out. 

His vision was blurry as he was dragged to shore, strong arm around his waist and minutes later, they break surface. 

Clark's voice was in his ears, asking if he was alright as they swam to shore.

Lex blacked out momentarily and when he came to again, he was blinking up at a familiar piercing blue eyes that in the wake of adrenaline, had a touch of inhumane glow. It quickly disappeared after he blinked again, and bitterness arises in his throat. His stomach roiled as he turned over onto his side, vomiting up any liquids he ingested including several tequila shots prior to his drive. Warm hands rubbed up and down his back comfortingly. 

"You're alright, you're safe." Clark's voice had just broken, it seems, and the earnest worry in his tone so familiar yet alien because he has not heard it in so long. 

"I'm fine," Lex rasped out as his eyes raked Clark's form over. The sweater he wore over plaid looks a little ripped but not a single scratch. "Are you okay? I swore my car hit you."

Clark affected that damn nervous laugh as he rubbed at the back of his neck, bronze skin flushing down to his neck. "No, I-ah, saw you went off the road and um-jumped in after you?" 

How did he fell for this the first time? Wait, no he didn't. That's why he kept digging and Clark lied again and again and again. Until they were nothing but hatred between them. 

His brow crinkled as he affected a confused look. "No I definitely hit something," Lex murmured under his breath. 

Lex could see the boy who has yet to grow into the man Lex hated start to panic and grabbed his arm. "Anyways, if I didn't hit you, that means you jumped into a cold river to fetch me out, thank you for saving me," he said, affecting a sincere smile onto his face. "I should've really watched where I was going."

It wasn't really his fault, not really, when there was such a convenient roll of wires sitting in the road that popped his tires. That was what they told the police when they arrived.

Lex's Porsche was pulled out of the river as they sat next to each other, now with warmed blankets over their shoulders from the paramedics. They made small talk as Lex told about his father sending him here to learn about the family business.

"The plant? The LuthorCorp plant?" Clark frowned.

"Ah yes," Lex nodded, mouth drawn into a tight line. "My full name is Lex Luthor, would you have not saved if you knew that I was a Luthor?"

"Of course not!" Clark said immediately, "It's just that not a lot of people in Smallville liked Mr. Luthor-- your father I mean."

"Call me Lex," Lex replied, nodding. "I understand. I don't like him either." He paused, looking into Clark's eyes and watch the boy flushed under his intense scrutiny. Superman had told him once that his eyes were like bottomless silver and blue, and one of the reasons why he was so defensive--- it was because it seemed like Lex's eyes could see every single one of his secrets.

"Listen, I'm going to be in Smallville until I can turn things around at the plant and I'd rather not have people fight every single decision I make." Lex continued. "I'm looking for friends." He leaned forward. "I promise, I'm nothing like my father. I won't even ask you what your deepest secrets are."

"What? I don't have any---"

"Clark!"

A middle-aged man with sandy hair and sky blue eyes came bounding down the hill that lead down to the riverbank where they were sitting, shouting Clark's name until the boy waved his father over.

"So who's a maniac that ran my son over?!"

Lex almost regretted going back in time. The one man he hated more than his father and Superman was Jonathan Kent.

Affecting a sheepish look on his face, he raised his hand. "That would be me. Your son saved me when my car went over the bridge."

"Wasn't his fault, dad. Just an accident," Clark said before Mr. Kent could say anything else. "Someone dropped a roll of wires on the road, took out his tires."

"And you are?" Jonathan still narrowed his eyes at Lex though his body language was marginally less aggressive.

"Lex Luthor, at your service," Lex replied, smiling, reaching out his hand and his handshake was rudely refused when Kent slapped his hands away. 

Shock and hurt shone in his eyes before Lex's expression closed off, inwardly glad to see the spark of anger in Clark's eyes at his father, but he still draw his blanket closer and moved off to the side.

"Dad," Clark said warningly. 

The older man looked slightly embarrassed as he pulled Clark even farther away and began fussing over him. 

Lex allowed it, satisfied with the occasional looks of 'sorry' the boy shot over his shoulders. 

It was a few minutes later when Hope and Mercy pulled up in a Mercedes Benz, both wearing their iconic black dress suits and six-inch heels. Hope long black dreadlocks pulled into neat buns while Mercy long flowing blonde hair was a perfect complement to her curves. Both of them drew curious and appreciative glances from the local police population.

"Boss," Mercy said as she approached him.

Hope veered off to deal with the local police, one hand already calling his favored attorney that was now probably speeding his way to Smallville. 

Lex let her fussed over him, who continued to do so even after he assured her that he didn't even suffer a scratch. "All thanks to young Mr. Clark here. May I call you Clark?"

"Yes," Clark said, blushing at the same time his father said hotly, "no."

"How dare you?" Mercy growled, looking like she was going to drill a hole in Jonathan Kent's head until Lex put a hand on her arm.

"It's alright, just _friends_ of my father," he said and before Jonathan Kent could refute that statement, he turned to Clark with a sincere smile. "Since my ride is here, I'll see you around, Clark. Mr. Kent."

…

"You're not going anywhere alone anymore, who knows what kind of creep out there has a grudge against your father and doesn't mind going after the innocent," Mercy griped as she opened the back seat. On the seat was a dry set of clothes, shoes, and socks. 

Lex gave her a fond smile but said nothing as she muttered angrily underneath her breath while retreating out of the car.

As he changed, he could see Clark from the corner of his eye and his breath caught as Clark's twitches and glances at his father matched Mercy's muttering. _Super-Hearing_. He quietly added to the repertoire of Superman's talents. 

A few minutes after he finished changing, Hope had returned and both of his bodyguards climbed into the front seats of the car. 

"They found the truck driver, no points will be deducted from your license and the insurance company will be coming out here for an estimate on the Porsche's replacement. In the meantime, shall I have Brandon drive out here with your other Porsche?" Hope said, twisting around from the front seat as the car started moving.

"No, bring the 1997 Corvette," Lex replied. "And get me a red Ford truck. New, and have it delivered to the Kent Farm after 4PM tomorrow."

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: I closed the age-gape between Lex and Clark because (1) I don't do underage sex but I still want their 'friendship' to start like the series which makes Clark 15 and Lex 18 at the start of this chapter. Lex only have to wait for 3 more [book] years rather than 6 years.


	5. Reward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Slow burn? - I don't want to tag it so because I feel like they'll start with dating and the sex can come later?? IDK. #LeisureWriting #IDontKNowWhatImDoing

As expected, Clark showed up at his doorsteps two days later, keys to the red Ford jingling in his hands. The boy looked so sad that Lex was tempted to cheer him up with kisses and hugs but they weren't quite there yet. 

Also, Mercy and Hope was standing between them intimidatingly. They had already discussed Clark's gifts (only what Lex was 'supposed' to know) and was a bit wary of Lex's reactions towards Clark himself. Lex himself probably didn't know that he was always tense and wary initially around the boy, gradually relaxing to the point that he felt more comfortable around Clark than he did his own bodyguards. 

"I'll be fine, take the night off, you guys deserve it," Lex assured them over their shoulders as he smiled at Clark. "I assume the gift was too much?"

"Yeah, besides, I didn't save your life because of gifts." Clark said sheepishly after his bodyguards let him cross the threshold into the old manor. So _that_ was how the older Kent convinced him to return the truck. Any other teenage boy would be off to the moon if they received a car for a gift, especially since they really did deserve it.

The would-be-Superhero looked around curiously as he waved Mercy and Hope off to do whatever it is they do. 

They've worked hard this week, sweeping the manors several times and installing his own surveillance and security equipment, not to mention overseeing transport and secret construction of a laboratory right underneath the mansion. 

"Sorry about Hope and Mercy," Lex said. "They're a bit protective. My father's... _methods_ tend to rile people up and I'm a much easier target." Ignoring Clark's frown, Lex continued. "A few of them had pretended to be run over or hurt by me in order to draw my attention before trying to kill me or steal something from me."

If anyone tried to check out those claims, they can read from the front page of the Daily Planet. No one has to knows that some of those assassination attempts were actually well-deserved and Lex have absolutely no guilt in placing the blame on his father. 

"They're pretty intimidating to me," Clark commented softly before adding, "I wouldn't hurt you."

"I know. Hope is a big teddy bear at heart, though I have seen her both put down several men twice their size," Lex replied with a wink. "And Mercy, let's just say even I would not cross her no matter how attractive she was. If you ever think about asking her out, think again."

Clark laughed nervously.

"Do you play pool?" Lex said before leading the would-be superhero into his den, laughing when the boy gave him a deer-in-the-headlights look. "Come on, I'll teach you."

They played pool and laughed and Lex remembered that Clark was an avid learner and _competitive_ , though Lex had also learned to not hold back. Age and experience was his advantage. He had fun destroying Clark in several games of pool while sipping on a glass of red wine, and ignoring the occasional times Clark glanced nervously at his ass and legs whenever he bent over. He knew what Superman liked and wore these pants for a reason after all.

At ten minutes until nine o'clock, he made Clark put away the pool cues and wrap up. He still had some work to do and the Kent would be happier with him if Clark was home at a reasonable time. Any misdeeds now would get Clark in trouble and give Jonathan Kent the perfect excuse to keep Clark away from Lex. "I'll drive you home."

"You really don't have to." 

"You came here in a truck, it would take you at least an hour on foot from here to your parents' farms. I'm not letting a fifteen-year-old walk over several miles home in the dark."

The drive was filled with inane chatter as they talked about everything between the Earth and the Stars and Lex remembered that he missed this. Clark's quiet acceptance and belief that Lex was _good_. Deep down, Lex knew he was not good because he has never been good, nor even tried to. He can _fake it_ and burry his darkness so deep but how can he be good when his own father ordered the execution of his own parents for fucking _life-insurance money_ , that his own father drove his mother insane rather than letting her go. 

As Clark got out of the car, he grabbed his arm. He wanted to tell him that he is trying to be patient, to be _good_ but it was so damn hard. 

In the end, Lex said nothing but, "you're welcome to hang out at the manor any time. It gets a little lonely there without Mercy and Hope," that was the truth, and in a softer voice, "goodnight, Clark."

Lex liked the way Clark had shivered imperceptibly. Too bad it was too dark for him to see the blush that was definitely adorning the boy's cheeks.

"Night Lex." 

…

The next week passed by slowly enough as he got the Plant in working in order. He didn't try to 'run into' Clark again, having more patience to wait for the boy to come to him.

Secondly, he was busy with the plant. It took him all of two days before he was fed up with the musty office at the plant and everything moved to the manor, including a direct communication channel that the manager can call him through if there was a need.

The plant was now running smoother than ever and he had definitely _not need_ to cut down the workforce by 15%, which was the estimated number his father gave him during his debriefing. He also managed to contract the surrounding farms to use the fertilizer from the plant, ensuring that the plant profits stayed positive for at least several years. Once that was done, the plant essentially can run itself, with the manager occasionally present to ensure no one was causing trouble or slacking off. His father would have nothing to complain at in the annual report.

Smallville at that point was buzzing with news about _his_ arrival, especially since he hired some local unemployed veterans and single-mothers to staff his manor. Lex happily ignored it because besides who his father was, there was nothing bad about him, and Lex was more than happy to join in a bitching fest about his father. Rather, he did not mind listening to one. 

Friday afternoon was the night of the local high school dance and Lex finished up work early to head home. 

At seven, he decided that he waited long enough and pulled on a sharp granite-gray Oxford sweater and the most comfortable pair of jeans in his closet. The final touch to his outfit was a _black Kryptonian_ ring on his left middle finger. Then he headed out, driving first through town, making sure to waved to some of the local kids whose parents now worked at the manor, before heading towards Riley's fields. 

When he pulled up on the road, several teenagers were running off in the distance and he pulled a flashlight from the car trunk before making his way towards the scarecrow in the middle of the field.

"Clark?"

A muffled moan was his reply. Lex pulled a knife from his belt and made quick work of the ropes, making sure he did not dislodge the green necklace Clark had on. It was the only thing the boy had on besides his boxers and last time around, Lex did not notice how well-built he was at fifteen. 

_Jailbait,_ Lex told himself before helping Clark down. "Alright, you're alright."

"L-Lex?"

"I'm here, you're alright. Who did this to you?" Lex took off his coat and wrapped it around Clark. "Come on, let's get you back to my car. You need medical help."

"N-no hospital," Clark slurred, managing to grab Lex's wrist to stop him from reaching for his phone despite his weakened as he was with the Kryptonite necklace around his neck.

"Alright, no hospital, can I at least call your parents?" Lex murmured softly. Much to his surprise, Clark reached for him, face pressed tightly against the bare skin of his neck. 

"You feel good," the boy said with wonder, color coming back to his cheeks. 

Lex shivered. Right. Don't get distracted. But before he could respond, both of Clark's hands was now pushing his shirt up and hands were tracing the curve of his waist. "Stop Clark, I'm ticklish," Lex murmured softly. Clark's large hands felt hot on his cool skin and Lex eighteen-year-old self was still a victim of hormones despite the control he had over his own body.

He could feel the boy freeze, yanking his hand away from his skin faster than lightning before Clark tipped over and toppled onto the ground. 

Pretending not to see Clark yanking off the green necklace and seeing it fall to the ground, Lex scrambled to get Clark onto his feet. "Come on, let's get you to my car and we can call your parents."

Once he was in close proximity with Lex and away from the green stones, his color began to return and by the time they get to Lex's car, Clark was walking by himself. 

Underneath the streetlight, Clark looked miserable, hair mussed, dirt on his face, wearing a coat a size too small for him. After settling the teenager in the front seat, Lex climbed into the driver's seat, dialing the Kent's number while starting up his car. 

"I assume you didn't tie yourself up on that scarecrow?" Lex said, waiting for the phone to ring. 

"No, it was just a stupid joke," Clark replied sullenly. 

Lex raised an eyebrow. "A joke that put somebody in a coma for 12 years," Lex commented. "I'm not going to ask who tied you up there unless you want to tell me yourself. In the mean time---Hi Mrs. Kent?

"It's Lex Luthor, I found Clark in the Riley field, strung up onto the scarecrow...No, I didn't see who did it...Should I bring him home or to the hospital?"

There was a pause when Lex peered up at Clark. "No...no injuries that I can see. Alright, I'll bring him home."

Right after the phone call, the car fell quiet as they pulled out of Riley's fields. Lex didn't push for more information because pushing Clark into a corner never did work. His phone buzzed--- Hope had sent a text: " **Done** ," and that nearly made Lex smiled. 

They pulled up to the Kent farm and before Clark could get out, Lex grabbed his wrist.

"Listen, I'm not going to come in. Your father probably can't get me off his land fast enough and I have something I have to tend to back at the manor." He didn't wait for the guilty expression on Clark's face to pass. "Even if you don't tell me who did this to you, you should tell your parents or _somebody_ so they can't do this again. I've seen how cruel kids can be. I'm only saying this because I don't want to see you hurt."

Clark gave him a genuinely warm smile. "Yeah...I know. And I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about," Lex replied. "You didn't strung yourself up and no son should pay for the sins of the father. Go on in, I see your mom peering through the curtains."

The Kents did came out to greet them but Lex was already gone. 

…

Once he got off the Kent farm, he texted Hope and Mercy to swing by Riley's farm to pick up the necklace at the scarecrow's feet before meeting them at home. 

He was in the process of pouring himself a glass of whiskey when the garage doors opened and closed. A few minutes later, Hope and Mercy entered, followed at their heels a sullen fourteen-year-old.

"Any casualties?" Lex pondered from where he sat on the sofa, watching the crackling fire. 

"No, no witnesses," Mercy replied, throwing a green jewel into his lap before plopping down onto the one-seater next to him in one smooth movement. 

Hope ushered Jeremy Creek into the only sofa seat left before leaving. 

"I would offer you tea or something but I assume you wanted to get home?" Lex asked.

The boy looked subdued, whatever anger he had against his attackers 12 years ago was probably beaten out of him by Hope or Mercy before explaining to him that 12 years have passed. His attackers were either killed by the meteor shower or moved away from Smallville. There really was no use in going after a bunch of high school idiots that and if not done well, would result in him throwing away the rest of his life.

Despite his age, the boy in body and mind was still a fourteen-year-old. Lex did not have a habit of throwing children in jail or research facilities. 

"Good, here's the story," Lex said, putting down his glass. "I found you wandering outside my home, just awaken from a coma. You have no memory after being hung up on the scarecrow and you were scared because you remembered being attacked so you ran. Deny remembering how you got here. There's enough time lapse that no one would be suspicious about that story. As for your powers...it would be best that you hide them until you can be sure that they can be accepted because unlike those in my employ, metahumans are neither known nor accepted."

The boy drawn even more into himself and Lex felt a touch of pity. "You can start with your parents. They're least likely to turn you in."

Because with the exception of Lionel Luthor, everyone else still had their parental instincts. 

…


	6. Lana

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @Inuhime: I did say "dark/hyper-intelligent Lex." My favorite pairings tend to be intelligent paired with an 'alpha-male' type personality.

The next time he sees Clark, the boy was helping him mom delivers potatoes to his kitchen. The boy looked tense and distracted, spilling one of the crates and earning a sharp remark from one of his kitchen staff.

Lex watched from the window balcony of his bedroom where he was chatting with Julian through his little brother's newest laptop---an early Christmas gift since Lex would not be home early enough to pick him up from Excelsior Academy. That was several weeks from now but Lex couldn't help but dote on his only brother. 

Lucas definitely did not count, considering Lionel raised him on greed and resentment. 

"Alright, I'll talk to you this weekend," Lex said, closing his phone before going down to the kitchens. 

When he was poking his head inside, Clark had just finished stocking the potatoes in the freezer. "Hey Clark?"

The boy looked both pleased and panicked to see him though Lex could not imagine why. It's not like he made any moves looking into Clark's little secret nor approached him about his attackers. The only other possibility--- that Clark was developing a crush on him--- which went to the top of the list when he watched his pupils dilate as he saw Lex. That...or Clark wanted to kill him. Danger and desire goes hand-in-hand. Lex sincerely hoped it's the former option though both has known to happen when it comes to Superman and him.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Clark smiled shyly though his expression could not be more insincere. Lex resisted the urge to narrow his eyes. "Let me finish here?"

"I can wait---"

"I'll finish here," Brandon, his current butler, interrupted. "Go-on."

Lex was amused. He never expressed any anger or displeasure at being kept waiting before. "Come on."

He ushered Clark ahead down to one of his 'toys' room that held his father's favorite reenactment of the Battle of Troy. "Just wanted to see how you're doing. Haven't seen you since I dropped you off at home. What have you been up to?"

Clark looked nervous as he recalled a funny story his friend Chloe from school told him about all the weird things that happened around here, including the 'Wall of Weird' they have in the news room. Lex allowed him the clumsy distraction. Whatever happened, Clark did not want to tell him and Lex have other ways of finding out rather than pushing him. 

"Sounds like I should really meet Chloe," Lex commented. "In the meantime, I have something else for you."

From the top of the fireplace, he took a lead box and held it up to Clark.

"Here," Lex said, "I heard from a little birdy that you have a crush on one Lana Lang. I believe this was hers---Clark?"

The boy quickly closed the box, face pale as a ghost. "Um, yeah, it's hers. Lex, what's this box made of?"

"I believe it was lead. My mother gave it to me for my sixth's birthday." Right before attempting to kill him. "Said it was made from St. George's armor, said to hold all his faith, fears, and doubt. Said to hold all it's strength too."

He clasped the boy's arm and opened the box, ignoring the surprise that bloomed across his face when he didn't immediately collapse onto the ground. 

"The hardest thing for a man to do is to tell the person he loves that he loves them," he said, before closing the box. "Present Lana with the necklace and I promise she'll at least consider you for a boyfriend."

"I-I don't think that's a good idea, she already has a boyfriend," Clark replied, putting the box down onto the table.

"A boyfriend. That's an obstacle, not a husband," Lex replied. The words tasting bitter on his tongue. 

"Yeah, but I don't think--- I don't think I like Lana like that," Clark almost stammered out. Despite being several inches taller than Lex, was able to peer up at him from underneath his lashes.

Lex arched an eyebrow at him questioningly. Now that was not something he was expecting. 

"I don't know, but it's not her that I was in love with," Clark said, with more conviction in his voice. 

"Pity," Lex nodded, smiling in agreement. "I was hoping there was some way I can repay you for saving my life. Say, what are you doing this weekend? I got tickets to the Metropolis Sharks..."

…

While waiting for the weekend to come, Lex spent some time setting up surveillance cameras throughout Smallville, even in the most unlikely of places. Not so much is finding out the secrets of Clark Kent, but to keep an eye on the ongoing events of Smallville. Secondly, the small changes in his own behavior have already started to affect Clark and the idea of not knowing something unsettled him. 

Much to his surprise, a few hours after setting up the videos cameras, he was watching Clark fight off a man who can control insects on a camera stationed behind an abandoned shed. Clark was clumsy but effective enough. 

The other man ended up being thrown through a wall and did not get up. 

Seems like Superman could benefit from some training with Hope and Mercy but Lex was not in a charitable mood, especially since they boy had not given _him_ anything. 

Their trip to Metropolis was surprisingly calm, inane chatter ate up the time on the drive there and back. The game was good and Lex might have put too much enthusiasm in cheering for the Sharks that Clark said he might try out for Smallville High football team. Lex was supportive, of course. 

And he could might be imagining it but there was certainly a spark of attraction, in a brush of their hands while sharing a nacho cheese or Clark staring him like a kicked puppy when Lex refused to share his beer. While eighteen was not quite _legal_ for alcohol, it was better than fifteen. 

Two days later, it later in the evening but not quite bedtime, Hope was ushering Clark into the living area of the manor. Black hair plastered against his forehead and Clark with the appearance and expression of a drowned cat. 

"Let me know when the purchases are done," Lex said to Mercy before pushing his laptop away.

His two favorite females cleared the room, leaving Lex to coax the would-be-Superhero to sit on the sofa next to him. Mercy appeared later quietly enough and left a set of dry clothing that appeared to be Clark's size on the sofa.

"What's wrong Clark?"

"I had a fight with my dad." An ashamed look washed over his face. "And then I ran away."

"You _ran_ here?" Lex asked before ruffling his wet hair. "No wonder you look like a drowned puppy. What did you have a fight about?"

"I want to play football." Clark said. "Dad didn't think it was a good idea. He think I might hurt somebody if I'm careless." 

Warmth bloomed in his chest at the first sign of trust and Lex quietly thanked Jonathan Kent. "He's right," Lex began and put an arm around his shoulders when the boy looked guiltily onto the floors, pulling him close on the sofa. "And he's wrong. Yes, somebody can and probably will get hurt, including you, but football is a rough sport. It only matters if you _intentionally_ hurt them and I've seen you, Clark, you wouldn't hurt a fly." _Unless it stands in the way of what you_ want. "I think your father is scared that you might get hurt and he loves you."

"I know," Clark said after a long moment. "He just doesn't trust me."

"I can't help you there," Lex replied. "I don't have any experience with good fathers myself but your father at least cares about your well-being. Do you want to stay here for the night?" 

Clark hesitated. "I'm grounded. I should go home." 

"Well, then what's a few more days, and it's raining out and certainly not safe for driving or hiking home," Lex said before giving him the dry clothing. "Stay tonight, I'll give your parents a call and have Hope prep a guest bedroom."

Clark's room ended up being two doors down, since Julian claimed the closest bedroom while Hope or Mercy usually took the other bedroom across the hall. Not that his safety was of any concern...at least until his father finds out that he's been buying up LuthorCorp stocks on the side. Lex's just prepping for his father's retirement. 

The next morning found Lex driving Clark to school and he got the chance to meet Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross, with the latter making an impressed dance around his bright red Ferrari. It was one of his flashier cars that he drove when he wanted to piss off his father.

Chloe, waif-like with short spunky blonde hair, took the chance to ask for an exclusive interview for the high school newspaper. She was much more likable than her counterpart Lois Lane. 

Lex tilted his head consideringly at the young would-be-journalist. "Sure, meet me at the Beanery. I'm usually free in the afternoons."

To his surprise, both Chloe and Clark showed that afternoon while he was in the process of running some numbers for a report his father wanted by the next morning. A courier was coming by the manor that afternoon to pick it up. He smiled, handing them the menu as he closed up the file and slipped the laptop into his bag. 

Chloe then fired off her questions hamburgers after turning on her recorder. "So how do you like Smallville?"

"I like it well enough." Lex returned.

"Do you have any plans for LuthorCorp plant?"

"Not in particular. The plant's output has been optimized and we have increased production and the number of contracts over the past few weeks."

"What's your opinion on the recent rumor that your father is trying to cut down the work force at the plant?"

"I haven't heard anything and as the acting director of the plant, any decisions he makes needs to go through me, even if he is the CEO of LuthorCorp. If that is to happen, I'll ensure anyone my father fires will have a place to go." Lex said. "You can make _that_ a quote."

"And for my last question, what do you think of our local farm-boy Clark Kent?"

Lex was caught off guard and Clark looked distinctly panicked, stepping on Chloe's foot underneath the table. "Well, I'm grateful that he saved my life and gave me a chance to prove that I'm not completely evil. I think he's been a wonderful _friend_.

"And on that note, I think this interview is over." Lex said, shutting the recorder off, an amused smile playing at his lips. "You have the making of a wonderful journalist and absolutely annoying paparazzi, Ms. Sullivan."

Chloe beamed at him. "Sorry, I had to ask. I know you're one of the good guys but you're never in town even though you've helped so many. You remember Tina Greer?"

"Yes, Ms. Greer is one of our summer interns," Lex nodded. 

"She told us that you helped her family pay for her sister's chemotherapy even when the insurance company turned them down. Never asking for a thing. Then getting her an internship at one of the pharmaceutical companies. She's not the only family you've helped out either." Chloe went on, eyes shining. "This won't go into the article but _why?_ You're a businessman."

"You're right, I am a businessman," Lex said, glancing at Clark. "Perhaps I'm just trying to balance out all the wrongs my father had done over the years. And besides, a few of those families are legitimate investments. What kind of investments? Well, I'm not in the habits of disclosing my working practices."

"I think it's wonderful what you're doing," Clark said, first words he spoke so far since after his burger came. 

Lex choose to ignore the elbow Chloe dug into Clark's side, leaning back. "Thank you."

" _Now_ I believe Clark's really over Lana," Chloe whispered conspiratorially. 

"Hmm?" Lex arched an eyebrow at her.

"Lana's been waitressing on the other side of the room since we got here and Clark hasn't even noticed or stared at her once."

"Chloe!" 

Lex enjoyed Clark's blush before he waived a hand at Lana, who waived back but her attention was immediately grabbed by a couple who sat down on the far end of her half of the Beanery tables. 

"I told you, I don't _like_ Lana." Clark whispered. "Stop making stuff up."

Chloe smiled, looking like the cat who caught the canary as she patted him on the shoulder, using his shoulder as a lever to push herself up. "Right, I better get going. This article isn't going to write itself. Thank you for the interview, Mr. Luthor."

"Lex, please," he replied automatically. "And when you have a moment of free time, come by the manor?"

The high school journalist looked intrigued. "Alright...?"

"I have a project in mind that requires a person with your kind of talent," he replied, handing her a business card with Mercy's phone number. "Call Mercy, she can answer any questions you have, but only ask them if you're willing to be hired. Mercy doesn't suffer fools and she does not appreciate people wasting her time."

…

After Chloe left, Lex offered Clark a ride home and they left the Beanery almost in a hurry judging by the way Clark was speeding out of the restaurant. Lex glanced back at Lana--- she was wearing the green Kryptonite necklace once more. 

"So," Lex began when the Ferrari purred to life. "Lana's not the love of your life then?"

"Um, no,"

Lex gave him a smile, half flirtatious if one looks at him from the right angle, just a tilt of the corner of his mouth. He was satisfied when Clark's eyes traced the movements of his lips. "So why is it so important that _I know?_ "

Clark looked away, cheeks flushed all the way down past the neck of his t-shirt.

"Clark?"

"B-because you're an important--- _Friend!"_

Lex almost laughed out loud. With a father like Lionel, he never had a chance to be a fifteen year old dealing with his first crush. Perhaps part of his attraction to Clark was the innocence that he exuded. Hopefully, what he had planned for both of them wouldn't take that away.

He glanced at Clark, staring into those piercing blue eyes, Lex smiled earnestly, the first earnest smile out of him since his arrival to Smallville.

"Thank you, Clark, for calling me a friend. You're an important friend as well...and our friendship, Clark, will be the _stuff of legends_."

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yes I realize "friendship will be the stuff of legends" is a cliché line that is overused...I just love it.


	7. Clark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: celebrate, because I'm probably not going to do this again. I just feel like a little bit of Clark's POV can fill in some of the holes of Lex's POV. As the story becomes more AU (less original events), Lex's POV would become easier to understand. I'm also still in the process of character development.
> 
> Also: there's also NON-CONSENSUAL sex in this chapter. Skip if this repulse you like it does me----I DO NOT in anyway approve/condone of any sexual activities (or anything else including medical procedures) without consent.

**_Clark's POV_ **

Clark almost ripped out his hair in frustration after Lex dropped him off at home. Why couldn't he just simply say it?

Feeling defeated, his shoulders dropped low after Lex's red Ferrari disappeared from his driveway. Sighing, he brainlessly sped his way through the chores on the farm before disappearing upstairs to shower and change into something more suitable for dinner. Through it all, his mind was filled with thoughts about Lex.

Since the Luthor Heir has arrived in Smallville, he hasn't once thought about Lana. She was still beautiful to look at, of course, but after the scarecrow incidence, he realized it wasn't _her_ that he was attracted to. He just thought he was because every time she was nearby, his knees got weak and his heart sped up--- and it was all because of the green meteor rock necklace. Just looking at her from afar, Clark felt lingering desire of _normalcy_ rather than Lana herself. 

And that was distinctly different from the feelings he get from just thinking about Lex. Lex with his dark, intelligent humor, his stories and smiles, but most importantly, the way Lex stared at him--- like he was the only one in the world. It makes him feels all sorts of funny feelings both in his chest and below his waistline. Heck, he felt so guilty the first time he jerked off, the morning after Whitney had strung him up on the scarecrow, using the memory of how Lex's skin had felt underneath his fingers and when he came, it was with Lex's husky voice in his ear telling him that he was ticklish. 

His first instinct was to push him down in the dirt to touch all of him, to clarify for himself if Lex's skin was _that smooth_ and silky _everywhere_. 

Since then, jerking off with thoughts of things he wanted to do to Lex was so often that the fleeting guilt no longer bothered him.

There was also the added bonus that Lex, or something on him, was able to neutralize the effects the green meteor rocks had on him. He remembered feeling quite a bit better after Lex got him down from the scarecrow, despite still wearing Lana's necklace, and it happened again in Lex's _War room_. Definitely was not his imagination and as far as he could tell, the effects came from Lex himself. He had no other jewelry on besides that black ring he always wear.

And today, Chloe had made sure he had the chance to tell Lex he likes him...and he blew it. 

_Fuck,_ he was such a _coward_. 

Well what did he expect, really. He thought he liked Lana for years without telling or even hinting at her that he likes her. He only found out he had a crush on Lex Luthor for all of two weeks. 

And there was a chance Lex doesn't think about him that way, that Lex only thought about him like a little brother. It was possible, judging by the way Lex seemed to care for him and took care of him whenever they go out. 

Clark let out another sigh as his forehead hit the kitchen table.

"Well, dinner's almost ready," his mom's amused voice sounded from above his head, filled with amusement. "Are you still fighting with your father?"

"No...I quit the football team." Clark sighed. He didn't have a choice, not after almost killing Coach Walt Arnold for almost killing Chloe at school today. Now the school was looking for a new coach and his lack of control made sure that until he could master his Super-Strength, he was not playing any sports. At least he could still play pool with Lex.

"He means well," his mom chided. 

"I know, I just hate it that dad's right," Clark replied. "But he's definitely wrong about Lex."

"Well, you can take that up with your father. I happen to like Lex very much. He's still just a boy and look how hard he tries to make up for what Lionel Luthor did to this town."

Clark grunted. A part of him wished Lex did not do things like that. It draws attention, especially from the single female population despite the fact that Lex was only _eighteen_. The phrase 'cradle-robbing' comes to mind but no one cares because Lex was heir to a multi-billion dollar business. Clark doubts Lex would be interested in any of the females in town--- if he has, he hasn't shown it.

"Well enough about your father, what's going on with you?"

"Nothing," Clark replied. 

"Don't lie to me, Clark Kent," his mother whacked him gently on the head with a wooden spoon.

"I-I uh tried to tell Lex I like him," he blurted out quickly before turning as red as a beet. 

His mom dropped the spoon in shock. "Oh dear," she picked the spoon back up. "Oh dear, does your father know?"

Clark let his head thud against the table. "No."

His parents were not homophobic. A friend of Jonathan Kent was homosexual and was now living in Metropolis with a 'lived-in' roommate and his parents did not blink an eye visiting them two years ago. The problem was that Lex. Or at least the problem was his father's feelings about those carrying the Luthor name.

Martha Kent propped her hands on her waist. "Well, does he like you?"

Clark shook his head. "I don't know. I-uh told him he was an important friend."

"Oh Clark," his mom tutted pityingly. 

Like always, she knew just what to do and gave him a big hug, patting him on the back. "You keep working on that, I'll take care of your dad."

"Thanks, mom," Clark leaned into the hug, relieved and calmed at the same time. Martha Kent always had that effect on him.

…

With the holiday seasons coming up, their school reminded them that twenty hours of community service was due by Christmas, giving them about a month and a half. Clark had chosen to do it at the Smallville Retirement Center and was surprised to see Lex coming out of his assigned volunteer room.

"Clark," Lex nodded, that smile on his lips, which looked so dam soft and kissable. They were never chapped, unlike his. 

"Lex!" Clark smiled brightly, hiding the flush that was starting to creep up his neck. "Are you volunteering too?"

Lex laughed, as if the idea truly amused him. "No, just visiting an old friend." His baritone voice still had that husky note that made Clark's spine tingled. Lex came to stand next to him at the sign in desk, peering at the name next Clark's. "Do you believe in fate, Clark?"

Clark shook his head. What does that have to do with anything? "Do you?"

The Luthor heir gave him a wicked smile that made his jeans marginally tighter. Definitely _not_ what he feels for Lana. "I believe everyone makes their own fate." Lex clasped him on the shoulders before exiting the Retirement Center. "I'll see you around, Clark."

Hope, Clark remembered, the less scary-looking bodyguard, was pulling up to the front of the center in a red Ferrari as Lex exited.

Shrugging off the weird conversation, because Lex was always a little weird (and intelligent, and hot), Clark took his volunteer basket and headed for Mrs. Carver's room.

The elderly woman was sitting in a wheelchair next to the window, gazing over the gardens that formed the backyard of the Retirement Center, a quilted blanket over her legs. The room smelled a bit like medicine, fresh-baked cookies, and for some reason, potatoes all at the same time. The bed was a few feet from the door and across from it was a bathroom. 

She turned when he came in, face turning a ghostly white as he neared.

Confused, he reached out for a handshake. Maybe she thought he was a thief or something though things like that didn't happen in Smallville often. "Mrs. Carver? Hi, I'm Clark, the new volunteer."

With a speed he thought faster than a typical 88-year-old, she clutched at his hands.

For a moment, everything becomes fuzzy and his chest filled with a strange sensation. It was if he was _floating, with the wind rushing past his hair, and he was surrounded by an ocean of blue sky and stars. He looked down and the sky loses all it's colors--- and the buildings passed under him, broken, deserted, with overgrown moss. The roads were empty and where there was space was a tombstone. He knew that he put the tombstones there but he did not know why or how._

 _A few minutes later, he reached the North Pole and finally he stopped over a frozen iceberg that distinctly shaped like a mountain. Slowly he descended. Frozen doors opened in his wake and inside, through a long hallway, he found_ **Lex** _in_ his _bedroom._

 _Lex, a little older, taller, handsomer, with bit of lines around his eyes, wearing nothing but a large flannel shirt. It was his shirt, he somehow knew, and that made something purr contently in his chest. He sat in the corner of the room with his knees pulled up to his chest. Pitiful, small,_ human _. His eyes were filled with anger when Clark entered before he resolutely turned away._

_That made him angry. Lex shouldn't be turning away from him._

_He dragged Lex kicking and screaming by the collar over onto the bed and shove him down, ripping off his shirt and using it as a rope to tie back his wrists behind him. Lex was laid bare for him, beautiful, all soft skin and sinewy muscle all for his taking. Somewhere faraway, he could hear Lex scream and shout._

_It felt like he should care but he only quieted him with an iron grip over his mouth, the other hand holding his hips in place. When he entered him, he found himself surrounded by heat, and fire, and feelings he has never felt before. It like he was coming_ home _and that everything was fine._

_When he sated himself, he leaned down to kiss Lex's bruised and tearstained cheek----_

Clark gasped, chest heaving as he fell backwards, hitting the ground hard enough to leave marks on the wooden floors where he reached back for balance. his shirt was soaked with sweat but he felt cold inside and out. The basket spilled on the ground and was forgotten as Clark took off faster human eye can see. 

Mrs. Carver was crying softly to herself from the wheelchair. 

…


	8. Thanksgiving

**_AU_**

The invitation to spend Thanksgiving with the Kents came as a surprise, though not unwelcomed. Julian was still away at school and his father rarely keep to a holiday schedule, probably in Europe or Japan looking to expand his empire. The manor itself had enough staff staying for Thanksgiving, but Lex decided to give them the day off after receiving the invitation delivered by Martha Kent, much to his surprise.

He thought if there was an invitation, it would be at least next year, after he _proved_ to Jonathan Kent that was not like his father, and that Clark would be the on to deliver it. To his surprise, Clark was avoiding him since their fleeting meeting at the Retirement Center. The future must have changed but Lex couldn't guess how. At the very least, it had scared Clark in a way that the vision in his previous timeline did not. Lex was almost tempted to go back to see Cassandra again, ask her what she showed Clark but at the same time, going back now would raise too much suspicion in his behavior.

He had taken advantage of being a time-traveler to the max but it was only an advantage if no one knows of it and his behaviors must _make sense_. It was why he allowed the car accident to take place--- to make sure that he had reason for paying attention to Clark, who to everyone else, was an unimpressive farm-boy. Definitely not someone impressive enough to be in the presence of guys like Lex Luthor. Even Lois Lane had never suspected him of being Superman until the truth was staring at her in the face. 

Of course it could also be that he's too paranoid and that Clark was avoiding him because he was too busy fighting off metahumans that constantly pop up almost every week. The most recent was a kid who discovered a compound from meteor-affected roses that can turn him invisible. He caused minor trouble but since Victoria never came to Smallville, no one was harmed, and Jeff Palmer put a stop to that after Clark knocked him out and destroyed all the flower pollen. Not before Lex managed to take the compound, of course. Never knows when a bit of invisibility can come handy for his employees.

He would not used it on himself unless his life was at stake---- it was too messy and requires one to be completely naked, which was not something Lex did in public if he had any other choice. 

Only Mercy and Hope accompanied him to the Kents on Thanksgiving day, since they also had no families to speak of.

In the past, they had replaced their vacation days by training in one of his many facilities in whichever city they were visiting at the time. Mercy occasionally dated and Lex was under the impression that Hope had sworn off dating altogether, having shown no interest in anyone since he knew her. 

He had a bottle of wine in his arms while Hope had a basket of fancy chocolates, though not too fancy. He still remembered the many gifts Jonathan made Clark return and had learned to not push the man's button, at least not where Clark can see. 

Martha opened the doors. 

"Lex! Hope and Mercy I believe? Come on in," Martha ushered them inside, closing the doors to the snow that began to fall outside.

Lex handed her the wine. "I hope you don't mind me bringing two extra guests." 

He was extra polite, being a fan of the Red Queen when she reigned Metropolis. Martha, underneath the housewife and farmer exterior, was rock-hard determination, ruthlessness that rivaled his father, and loyalty to her son that surpassed everything else in the world. She went as far as destroying an entire organization through manipulation, and occasional murder, in order to protect Clark's secret. 

"Of course not! The more the merrier, Jonathan still in town picking up desert," Martha grinned. "Clark is right upstairs, go on up, I'll call for dinner."

"I'll help out," Mercy said, dragging a bewildered Hope along with her into the kitchen. "I've never made Thanksgiving dinner before."

Mercy was always more perceptive than Hope when it comes to subtext. If it was any other occasion, they would be guarding outside the doors, especially since Clark was proving to be a metahuman in their eyes. But Lex wanted some time alone to figure out what Clark saw in his vision and while he trusted Hope and Mercy, there's still that niggling thought that if push comes to shove, would their _loyalty_ be _enough_.

Clark was coming downstairs as he went up and he saw something dark passes through the boy's eyes and it looked familiar enough to give him pause, yet it was so fleeting that it made Lex wondered if he imagined it. Well, now he _had_ to find out what Clark saw.

"I need to talk to you," Lex caught him arm. "Your mom will be fine with Hope and Mercy." He dragged him upstairs. "Where's your room?"

"Um," Clark lead him to a typical teenager's room, though cleaner than he thought, and a hint of mustiness that distinctly smell of _sex_ that surprised Lex. No perfume nor female-scents in the air, however. Clark was nervous as he pretended to clean up his room as he said, "so what did you want to talk about?"

Narrowing his eyes, Lex closed the doors behind him and sat down on the end of the bed, giving Clark some space. "What did you see, Clark?"

Clark looked up in surprise.

"Cassandra...has gifts. I went to see her on a friend's advice and you've been avoiding me since you started volunteering there, so she must have given you a vision." He stated.

The would-be-Superhero looked at anything but him while shame and guilt flickered across his expression. Lex missed this version of Clark Kent when his emotions were like an open book. Within this second, Lex could spun up a thousand different scenarios that Clark could have seen, but unfortunately, he was not psychic and being able to predict events based on current events does not mean he can predict the future. Cassandra's powers had strayed into the supernatural (and out of logic) and Lex knew for sure that the future has changed by him being here.

Whatever it is, however, Lex was no longer the 'bad guy' because Clark was still staring at him like he was a _friend_ (or something more). There was no malice in that gaze, only warmth, guilt, and something else Lex could not put his finger on. 

"You don't have to tell me what it is _if_ it doesn't concern me...but it _does_ , doesn't it?"

Clark looked even more guilty and Lex sighed. "You're a terrible liar, Clark," he muttered. He changed tactics, leaning back against the bed, making a bet with himself. "Cassandra showed me my future as well, but I don't believe in it." Lex said, tilting his head. His smile was sharp as he met Clark's eyes, watching with fascination as Clark's pupils dilated. "The only one who controls my future is _me_."

The green eyes flared blue and for a moment, Lex could almost sense Clark's restraint holding him back. "Learn from the vision she showed you but don't let it dictate your vision. By knowing the future, you have a power to change it."

He let that sank in before standing, brushing some invisible dirt off the nice black pants he had chosen to wear. "Come on, let's go see what your mom made for dinner."

Lex was reaching for the door when Clark caught his hand. He hadn't even heard the boy moved. "Wait, I---"

"You did _WHAT?!!"_

Lex inwardly sigh at the interruption but he quickly got out of the way as Clark rushed downstairs because that shout came from downstairs and it was Martha Kent's voice.

…

They ended up postponing dinner for several hours while Lex made several phone calls to his office in Metropolis, including a call to his best negotiator and his personal lawyer. 

He was facing the window as he talked, watching the snow fall outside the Kent's farmhouse windows, hiding the amusement on his face as Martha glared daggers at her husband. Clark was sitting next to her with her hands on her shoulders, trying to massage out the tension in her shoulders. Perhaps the most relaxed one was Mercy who was currently nibbling on a pumpkin pie on the kitchen table across from the living room. Hope herself had pulled out a laptop and started the paperwork for annul whatever deal Jonathan Kent had signed with Bob Rickman from Rickman Industries, that traded the farm for some ridiculously low price.

Jonathan himself looked confused and angry, wondering what had gotten into him that he sold the farm, which was besides Clark, his pride and joy. His story was familiar enough to Lex, who knew Bob Rickman and a little bit of his powers. If he left it alone, then Bob would eventually die due to an accident and the Kents would get to keep their farm. If Lex got involved, however, then Jonathan Kent has no way of ever repaying _him_ for saving their farm. 

Unlike with Clark and Martha, Lex really did not like the older Kent and did not want to actually work for his trust and affection. He barely respected the man, might have even hated him a little because of his hatred and biases towards Luthor, except he taught Clark about responsibility, control, and how to be good. 

Saving the farm earned him trust faster, with very little effort on his part except for a few phone calls to put things into motion.

"It's Thanksgiving, but Mr. Walker is a very good lawyer and managed to wake a judge up to detain the contract that was signed under duress. Since Rickman likely has not returned to Metropolis to file the contract, hopefully the judge will annul it and you'll get to keep your farm Mr. Kent." Lex said after hanging up. "We'll know by tomorrow at the earliest where the judges fall in their discussion."

Translation, his people will find dirt on Rickman and make sure he tears up the contract. Half of his staff were composed of metahumans or psychics, Rickman's gift was not unheard of and is easily overpowered. 

If needed, he can contract Tippet to come out of hiding and take care of his best friend. 

The older Kent tense shoulders dropped in relief as Martha let out a sigh. To his surprise, she gave him a large hug. "Thank you Lex." Her hug was warm and welcoming and for a minute, his breath caught and Lex leaned into a hug.

A hot blush highlighted his high cheekbones as he let Martha go. "You're welcome, Mrs. Kent."

"Please, after that, call me Martha." Martha Kent chided.

Clark was smiling happily at him as Martha ushered all of them into the adjacent kitchen table, grabbing extra chairs from underneath the stairs to make place for three more people at their small table. Hot apple cider was shared between cuts of turkey with amazing cranberry-based stuffing. Corn, mashed potatoes, and coleslaw for sides.

Normal dishes that Lex has not eaten in years, he thought. To his chagrin, that awful wistfulness comes back at the pit of the stomach as he smiled charmingly through dinner. It's not that he was disappointed at his own barren childhood, not with Julian to overwrite some of the worst memories, but he had and still envied for the easy love shared between the Kents. A normal family, a normal couple, with a bit more than average son, normal problems. Things he never have and never will have. 

Not with the path he laid out for himself.

…

After dinner, with the heavy snow, Martha suggested they spend the night rather than driving back and Lex agreed. 

Lex would crash on Clark's floor using their hunting sleeping bags while his bodyguards/assistants would sleep in the living room sofas using the plenty extra blankets. Clark turned an adorable shade of pink when Lex asked for an extra set of pajamas to shower and change into. 

When he came out smelling a bit like Clark's body and passed by him on the way to his sleeping bag, much to Lex's amusement, the boy shifted in a way that was definitely hiding his arousal. 

The rest of the house was quiet when Lex sat up again, this time leaning on the side of bed. 

Clark was definitely not asleep, his eyes almost an insane glow in the darkness as he stared at Lex. "Lex?"

"Do you want to know what Cassandra showed me?" Lex said, his voice almost a whisper. 

Electric blue eyes disappeared for a moment before Lex was yanked out of his sleeping bag and onto the bed, crushed beneath the solid weight that smelled like hay and rain and hope at the same time. 

"Clark!" Lex almost shouted, and it was definitely _not_ a squeak. 

Chest to chest, pelvis against pelvis. Clark's nose was burried against the side of his neck against his pulse, and Lex's hips cradled a very impressive hard-on that was definitely not his. This was not the turn of events that is predicted. He thought the boy was easily trade his vision for a lie Lex had on the tip of his tongue. Instead, he was trapped in a compromising position with a very _fifteen-year-old_ Clark Kent that did not felt like a boy in the least. Somewhere in the last few months since he got to Smallville, the boy had grown into a man, at least physically. 

"Just let me hold you," Clark whispered against the skin of his neck, voice thick with emotions that made Lex shivered. 

"We're not doing this right now," Lex whispered back furiously as he pushed at Clark. "You're fifteen!" Lex was definitely not going to bed a fifteen year old child.

The arm around his waist and shoulders tightened and a spark of arousal ran through him. He felt teeth against his neck and couldn't contain a soft sound of surprise.

"Lex, _please._ " Clark murmured, voice lighter now with a hint of amusement. Pressed against him like this, Lex couldn't hide any of his bodily reactions even if he tried. Not for the first time, Lex inwardly curse and swore at his eighteen-year-old body.

"I just want to hold you. I'll tell you everything, I promise."

…


	9. Secrets

Drifting out of sleep on the narrow bed, Lex felt safe and warm for the first time in, well, a very long time. 

He slept curled around himself, spooned against his back was Clark's solid body who slept with one arm beneath Lex's head and one around his waist, nose pressed against the back of his neck and that was definitely an impressive morning wood pressed against the curve of his ass, separated by two layers of pajamas. Letting out a soft sigh, Lex stared at the winter sun that filtered through the thin curtains and spilling onto the wooden floors. 

As if in response to his sigh, Clark ground his pelvic against Lex's ass.

"Good morning," Lex murmured before slipping out of Clark's embrace with difficulty until Clark lifted his arm around his waist, grabbed his clothes and make for the bathroom.

It was more for his sake than Clark, really, since his own cock had stirred at the thought of a morning fuck.

Unfortunately, this was not his space and there were so many variables not under his control. More importantly, Clark was not really ready for an intimate relationship. Clark was fifteen, powers unstable, and uncertain of his own decisions and desires. 

After his cold shower, he decided to skip going back for Clark and went downstairs, where he found Martha, Hope, and Mercy sharing a cup of morning tea. The snow had ceased to fall and the farm was covered in at least eight or nine inches of snow. Just as he ambled into the kitchen, Clark passed by him in a breeze, grabbing a piece of toast before he was out the doors to help Mr. Kent in shoveling the snow off the driveway. 

Lex almost raised an eyebrow at the pretend carelessness and would have thought it was real if he was not an expert at reading Clark. Like a true teenager, Clark was all awkwardness and uncertainly wrapped up in a very nice package and once he grows out of it, Lex could remembered why he was attracted to Clark Kent in the first place.

He vaguely remembered being just as awkward as Clark (in his previous timeline) but being a Luthor beat that out of him fast enough. People were attracted to money and Lex remember losing his virginity to a woman at the age of fifteen to someone who was old enough to be his mother (probably, he didn't remember). That did not make to into the local news but him shaking up with a man at age nineteen definitely did. His father was furious, Lex remembered, but he couldn't remember what the man was like only that he didn't really like men...not until Clark showed up again in his life as Superman.

Hiding his melancholy, Lex poured and sipped on his coffee, making small talk with his three favorite females instead.

Once the snow was cleared from the driveway, he reassured the Kent that the paperwork had gone through with the judge and the farm was still theirs, before bidding them goodbye.

…

The next two days passed quickly enough and it was Saturday night that he saw Clark again.

This time Lex was getting ready to go out.

His old haunt, _Club Zero_ had just reopened several months ago, quickly becoming the hottest spot for college-aged yuppies to be at from Friday night to Sunday morning. Once gain, two of his closest friends Jude Royce and Amanda Rothman had decide to host their pre-engagement party at the Club. Jude came from old money, with most of the family originating from New York while Amanda was a girl that grew up from the slums of Metropolis and had gotten into to know Jude at a charity she worked at. Practically a Cinderella story. 

Unfortunately, Jude was a nice guy, but he was _nice_ to everyone. Like Lex, he was bisexual but unlike him, had no control over his lower half. He was suave, however, and efficient had hiding any traces of his infidelity. Even without Lex spoiling the surprise to Amanda, he doubted that they would last two years before there would be a divorce.

It was about six PM and by the time he drove back to Metropolis, it would be an appropriate time to show up at the club. Have a few dances and drink before the party officially began. 

Word on the street was that Oliver Queen, heir to Queen Industries, who went missing a few years ago after a boating accident, had been rescued and would be attending. 

He was fixing on a pair of silver cufflinks onto a casual black suit. No tie, with the first two buttons of his silk shirt unbuttoned. His chest was smooth and the skin that practically glowed against the darkness of his shirt, curved tantalizingly over the curve of his throat and collar bones.

It definitely stroked his ego to have Clark's eyes lit up when he saw Lex. "Hey."

Hope and Mercy, experts at reading his silent orders, immediate vacated the room. "Hey," Lex replied, wondering if the boy had gotten over his awkwardness two days ago. 

"You're going out?" Clark asked with uncertainty, sat on the sofas situated just a couple yards behind the mirror that lead to his closet. 

Lex met his eyes in the mirror. "Yes, an engagement party of some sort and my attendance is _mandatory_ , but I have time to talk if you want."

There was hesitation but Clark nodded. "Yeah, if it's a good time right now."

"I always have time for you, Clark," Lex smiled his not-smile, just a curve at the corners of his mouth as he sat down next to Clark.

A blush rose to his cheeks and Clark ducked his eyes. Lex could almost taste the victory when Clark confessed his secret to him _willingly_ , so it shocked him when Clark told him, "you're an important friend, Lex. _Important to me_." Lex's mouth felt dry and if Clark had paid attention, he could probably see Lex's expression closing off.

"You told me that I can create my own future and I want us to still be friends in the future. This...vision that Mrs. Carver gave me, it wasn't good Lex. I was doing something really, really bad and I don't want that to happen."

Even teenager Clark, who was practically an open book, managed to surprise him yet again. His expression was earnest, as was the look in his eye when he stared at Lex. It was the same look Lex had seen on him when he stared at Lana in the past, bright electric blues hiding longing and sadness. As if he was sacrificing himself for the greater good and that included Lex. 

He _miscalculated_.

Lex forced himself to relax his grip in his lap and smiled. "Your friendship is important to me too and you could never be bad, Clark." You just don't have it in you. Selfish, yes, self-centered, yes. "Anything else?" Lex asked, just because it was his nature to inquire and he was almost sure that his question did not sound too bitter.

"No," Clark hesitated again. "You're driving to Metropolis, right?"

"Yes," Lex replied, allowing the subject to change. 

"Drive safe?" Clark asked.

"I'll try," Lex replied dryly and watched the boy left, shoulders forcefully squared as the doors shut behind him.

 _What was he expecting? The truth?_ It's not like he was telling Clark everything either, he supposed and that's what he told himself as he waited for five minutes to pass.

Five minutes after Clark left the room, enough time for him to go back to his father's truck, fire it up, and left the manor grounds, he got up and threw one of the glass ornaments on his coffee table against the wooden doors.

The glass shattered and followed it was the rest of the glass set, then it was a vase that happened to sit on the nearby fireplace. The vase had an existing crack that proved it's genuine origins, but now act as a sharp blade that slashed open his palm as he threw it.

Staring at the red blood dripping down onto the plush maroon carpets, Lex dropped himself back onto the sofa. He really was acting like a child. After several deep breaths, he texted Hope and Mercy to send someone to clean up the room. 

He was moving too fast, asking for too much too soon, confidently demanding answers from someone whose entire life revolved around his secrets. So really, what did he expect Clark to do? Bare his soul to someone who he's only met three months ago? A part of him was convinced that with time, Clark will let him in. The other part of him, the darkness that he tries so hard to hide, told him that he would never be good enough for the noble Clark Kent. All that bitterness and hurt and self-doubt he tries so hard to lock away by trying to be _good_ reared it's ugly head and he couldn't help but dig his fingers into his palm, forcing the already healing cut opened. 

He stared down at his hands, bloody and imperfect only for the next few seconds until the deep cut on his palm healed. If Clark _asked,_ Lex wondered whether he would tell him everything, reveal all his secrets. That was another question he had no answers for.

Sighing, Lex stared at his reflection on the polished coffee table. He would have to change into a another set of clothes before leaving. 

So he got up and did just that.

Because Luthors do not cry. They do not scream in anger or frustration.

They definitely do not fail.

…


	10. Advantage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: @RunningWild22 - caught that didn't ya? I really like Tina Greer so I really wanted some way to keep her in my story aka hint!spoilers.

Lex closed his eyes to drown out the music as he leaned into the whiskey-tainted kiss. _Ben?_ Lex remembered vaguely him whispering it into his ear before pulling him out into the alley. The man that would probably accompany him home for the night was a few inches taller than Lex's five-foot-eleven and the perfect height to push him against the cold brick wall of the club. His kissing was not bad either, if a bit sloppy. 

The kisses felt good. Ben tasted good and was certainly sexy enough, forward, and practically worshipping his mouth and then his neck.

Yet there was something missing and his own lack of arousal annoyed him. Ben was not tall enough, not muscular enough, and did not smell like hay and pine and _home_. 

"Stop," Lex murmured.

"What's wrong baby?" The man replied huskily, hands still massaging his ass as he leaned down to nibble on Lex's jawline. "Bet I could make it good."

Lex could feel his erection pressed against his stomach and the wrongness was so potent that he shoved Ben back. "I said stop."

The man looked enraged for a split second before Hope grabbed his collar from the behind and shove him up against the alley wall, hard enough to leave a bruise the next day. "He said stop, asshole, now beat it," Hope growled before letting him drop to the ground, watch him scramble out of the alley.

Sighing as he leaned against the wall, Lex ignored the pointed look Hope gave him before disappearing around the corner of Zero.

Metropolis winter sky was familiar, full of stars with the smattering of clouds that hinted at the coming snow storm. Beautiful as it may be, from the alleyway, it was hidden by tall buildings, including several Lex owned, LuthorCorp Plaza, and Queen Tower. A little further ahead, one could also see the Watchtower and the Daily Planet, both gleaming bronze and gold roofs underneath the starry sky. The view was both familiar and alien to Lex, who had practically spent an entire lifetime fighting for the right to rule this city. 

Burying dark thoughts as deep as they can go, Lex returned to Zero. He felt every step become lighter as he made his way through the dance floor, avoiding grabby hands and catcalls from various club patrons. Most of them belonged to the upper echelon of Metropolis social ladder. Lex recognized them from charity galas, business parties, and Excelsior.

He smiled at a few, even winked at a female or two before heading upstairs, where the upper half of Zero was rented out by Jude and Amanda. 

The couple was grinding against each other upstairs, surrounded by their shared friend-groups. A smug look from Jude, who for some reason was always convinced that Lex was in love with Amanda, making Lex's mood even darker until Duncan shoved some sort of milky green shot into his hand that was topped with whipped cream.

"Thanks," Lex murmured, barely audible above the beat of the music. The shot tasted like mint and apples and vodka, immediately making his mood better. 

"Ignore him," Duncan replied, pulling him into an empty booth.

Immediately, a waitress appeared to take their order and Lex slipped a hundred dollar bill into the front clasp of her bra. "Ten Kamikaze."

Duncan made a soft noise of surprise and anticipation. "You sure that's a good idea?"

Lex gave him a wry look.

"I know Jude's a dick, but I saw you walk out with that guy. Don't know why Jude's acting like you stole his girlfriend," Duncan grumbled.

Probably because Amanda was half in love with Lex. They had been introduced through Jude when they were thirteen at a charity gala and after two years, has finally agreed to be Jude's girlfriend. Which does not really stop her eyes from straying to Lex on occasion, lots of occasions when he came home from Excelsior. The Lex who did not know that he preferred the male sex was charmed by the desire for him, mistaking it for love.

Shaking his head, Lex gave the waitress another hundred dollar bill and knocked back a shot before shoving the second on in Duncan's hand. "Don't worry about, drink. It's not everyday one of our friends get hitched."

Duncan knocked back the shot. He finally learned how to drink after starting college, Lex noted absently. The ten Kamikaze's did not last long and Lex leaned against Duncan woozily, finally feeling the effects of the alcohol fading away his thoughts. 

The next few hours passed by in a haze of shots, dancing, messy kisses, and his last memory was of Duncan rubbing his back when he vomited on the side of the road in front of Zero. 

…

The thing about having a physiology that's not quite normal, like Lex who had survived at least 2-3 near-death events every year since he became an adult, was that one can wake up after a night of drinking without a hint of a hangover. Lex had at least 8-9 more shots after the Kamikazes, half having names he has never heard of. Those shots were then followed by two glasses of wine as hey cheered Jude and Amanda on.

Rubbing his face, Lex stopped staring at the red velvet canopy and reached for the flip-open phone on his bedtable and scrolled through the messages left by Julian, a few my Mercy checking in to see if he's awake. 

The sky was blue and the sun was high in the sky, with soft golden sunlight glittering off the freshly fallen snow on his balcony--- probably past noon at the very least.

Flopping back on the pillow, he texted his assistants idly before dozing off again.

It was two o'clock in the afternoon when Hope came in with a set of new clothes, a black button up and casual gray slacks. "Morning," he murmured before pulling the covers over his head. He was having such a good dream about floating at sea on a boat while Clark slathered his backside with sunscreen. 

"Harry Hardwick is here to see you," Hope said, yanking the blanket off in one smooth motion. 

Her eyes softens when Lex stared at her, definitely _not_ pouting. 

"He insisted on meeting you at the very least. Says that he has a business proposal."

"Tea and biscuits, the fancy ones," Lex replied before grudgingly getting out of bed, unabashed at his nakedness as he slipped into the bathroom. 

Twenty minutes later, he was dipping his biscuits into a delightful cup of Earl grey on a set of bamboo furniture in the greenhouse, situated a floor below his penthouse. The greenhouse consisted mostly of rare tropical plants he collected, most of them medicinal save for an pair of orchids. Sitting across from him was Harry Hardwick, CEO of Hardwick Enterprise, and to his left sat a beautiful redhead. 

"Please, help yourself," Lex said, stirring his tea and pointedly ignoring Victoria's attempt in catching his eyes. 

His body language was relaxed, unlike the tenseness across Hardwick's shoulders and the nervous Victoria was valiantly trying to hide. Lex had honestly expected them to come knocking at his doors sooner the moment Cadmus Labs was put up for sale. Of course, no one knew that he has been already purchased it and the most profitable patents had been registered under _LLC_. Cadmus now _looks_ profitable, even to a trained eye like Lex's, but most of it's discoveries and scientific patents was also synchronously being developed elsewhere, lowering the market price for it by more than fifty percent.

However, Hardwick Enterprises was sinking fast the last few years and they were desperate. 

Lex was young (eighteen), heir to LuthorCorp, and publicly the owner of LexCorp, a semi-profitable IT company. Once again an 'easy' target for business moguls like Hardwick. The difference was that he never allowed Victoria to approach him until now, which was frankly the best way to deal with Victoria, who was like a shark after a bone once she set her sights on something. 

With Lex's bodyguard being, well, who they are, forced Hardwick to approach Lex himself. 

"What can I do for you today, Mr. Hardwick?" Lex asked. 

For the next half an hour, he let Hardwick present his case and mildly enjoyed the show. The argument--- that LexCorp would also benefit if he bid for Cadmus with Hardwick Enterprises, ensuring that LuthorCorp does not acquire it's patents. Which, ideally, would make LexCorp in its growth and would in the future outgrows LuthorCorp and consumes it. That is, if Lex did not already owned 22.6% of LuthorCorp through purchases made by several of his shell companies under LLC. His father owned approximately 25%. 

"I could help," Lex said, amusement in his voice, almost smiling at the hope in Hardwick's faces before crushing it. "But I'm not going to. I suggest you approach my father and offer to share a slice of the pie, as they say. I have no interest in Cadmus Laboratories."

"You're pathetic," Victoria murmured softly from next to her father, half-lidded eyes gazing at him with challenge and anger in her tone. "You're father will never let you rule."

Lex sipped on the tea, staring calmly at her, his lips even curled in a smile-smirk just the right way that spoke of indifference and how little she was worth. He knew for a fact that it pissed Victoria off when he did not react, whether to her jab or the huskiness in her voice. Once upon a time, he saw her ambition as her strength and fire, but after discovering what she was willing to do, _who_ she was willing to bed, Lex lost interest. 

"He doesn't need to," because Lex will take the throne with his own hands. "If you nothing else, Mercy will show you out."

The other thing that pissed off Victoria was being in the presence of a female more beautiful than she is, and Mercy, tall, blonde, and built like an Amazon, certainly was. The Hardwick gave him an hard look before following Mercy out of the greenhouse.

Once he finished his tea, Lex dialed Lionel's number. 

After two ring, his father's gravelly voice sounded in his ears.

"Father."

…

Declining the Hardwicks and baiting his father with Cadmus Laboratories resulted in a victorious three hundred million dollar profit for Lex a month later after the papers were signed. Nothing compared to his best ventures but better than most of his dealings. It was even sweeter because 228 of that 300 millions belonged to his father and Hardwick Enterprise shut down a few weeks later, with the Hardwicks was a touch closer to declaring bankruptcy, given that the money they borrowed in order to purchase Cadmus was almost as much as the profit Cadmus yielded.

These numbers would only continue to go down, especially in the coming months when LLC released their new products. 

Of course, 300 million was still chump change compared to the rest of his growing corporation, but it was a considerable amount in the early 2000s. By the time he ran for president, the worth of a dollar had gone down severely. 

It was a job well done and he celebrated by inviting stopping by LuthorCorp Plaza for a quick lunch with his father a week out from the sale. Stay incognito and all that. 

His father was suspicious and Lex allayed his fears by mentioning that he wanted Julian to join him in Smallville next summer, which his father said he would 'consider it.'

With decoys and lies they danced around each other until desert was finished and they would leave the restaurant in relative peace. 

On the highway back, his phone rang.

"Victoria," he greeted.

"You think you're so fucking clever," Victoria growled.

Lex hesitated for a split second. "I don't know what you mean, Victoria." 

"LLC." The husky voice grounded out angrily. 

Blinking, Lex pulled his car over, signaling the black Mercedes driving behind him. "I've heard of it." 

"Don't lie, Alexander, it's not becoming of you," she hissed. "You _knew_ LLC switched out the patent portfolio."

"Yes, I knew," Lex replied smugly, rubbing his brow tiredly as he relaxed, taking off the seatbelt and slipped out of the car. 

"You know LLC's CEO," Victoria stated.

"And?" Lex replied as he leaned against the side of his Corvette.

The call ended abruptly and Lex smiled a bit to himself before getting back in the car. It always felt good when pulling one over his competitors. 

Hope knocked against his windows.

Lex rolled down the windows. "Finalize the purchase. I want LLC's CEO attending the New Year's gala at Met's Children Hospital."

…


	11. Claw

"Lex!" Julian yelled from the top of his lungs.

The older Luthor grinned as his little brother tackled him against the Porsche parked outside of Excelsior Academy. The brick wall was red, the building tall, expensive, and intimidating as it's shadow fall over them. There was snow on the roofs and outside it's walls, with the grounds swept clean by the many groundskeepers hired by the schools. Can't risk the children of the rich and famous falling on their faces and suing their school. 

Like Lex when he was a preteen, Julian had put on a little weight, but being away from Lionel had probably done him well. His shoulders was high, expression open and relaxed. 

"Come on, we're taking a road trip," Lex said. 

"To where?” Julian said, crossing to the other side of the car.

"Not far," Lex replied.

Two hours and some minutes later, they pulled into a snow-covered parking lot.

"Rose Pine Nurseries," Julian muttered as they got out of the car. "We're going to get a tree? Don't we already have one?" There was one at the Luthor Manor, fifteen feet tall and stood proudly in front of the manor entrance, decorated fashionably yet not a single year since his mom died has there been presents underneath the tree.

“Yeah, but this one is going in your room. You and I are going to decorate this one. Mercy and Hope is picking up decorations and stockings as we speak.”

Half an hour later, Lex paid for a four feet tree that he stuffed into the backseat of his car with some imaginative maneuvering.

Julian had the widest smile on his face and it made Lex felt like for once, he did alright. 

Christmas Eve was alright. They were almost a normal family, decorating the tree and wrapping up presents for Hope, Mercy, Kelly, and Brandon (the butler), and drank hot chocolate by the fireplace. 

Christmas day was even better as he accompanied Julian in opening presents. He himself was surprised when his little brother presented him with a new watch, silver and gray. A bit slender and delicate compared to his taste, but he took off his Rolex and slipped it on. 

Lionel caught them and for a moment, Lex swore that he saw something close to wistfulness on his face, before the emotion morphed to disappointment and he sent Julian packing the next day.

Lex did not argue, driving Julian back to Excelsior himself. Julian was safer there anyhow. 

The drive back to Smallville was somber and for some reason, the sight of Smallville, with it's old and new buildings covered in snow, unchanging despite the New Year's, was comforting. 

Weird, little Smallville. 

The town was the same, with most of the stores starting to reopen after the first of January, so Lex was _surprised_ when he spotted Victoria exiting the Beanery. Shiny red hair pulled back and framing her face, tight black dress that was too high-class for this town and too casual for important meetings. She spotted Lex's car, smiling as if she's caught the canary.

Lex pulled over and rolled down the window.

In the bright of day, Victoria was beautiful, save for the angry glint in her green eyes and twisted smile on her red lips.

"What are you doing here?" 

Victoria placed both of her hands on the edge of his window, staring down at him like he was not worthy enough to lick her boots. 

"Just doing a little investigating of my own," she purred. "You think you've covered all your tracks but you didn't."

"What do I care?" Lex replied. 

"You should, because Metropolis will have a field day when they caught wind that the heir to LuthorCorp is working with LLC to overthrow his father's company, and Lionel will kill you for going behind his back."

"Speculations and conjectures," he began rolling up his window. Victoria knew nothing and that meant she did not matter to him. "If you'll excuse me, I have to----"

"Fuck you," Victoria snarled.

The next thing he knew, there was a gun pointed at his forehead---the end of a beautifully carved metallic gray colt. There were not a lot of people on the street, a teenager walking his dog coming out of the Beanery.

Lex grinned a smile full of teeth as anger sparked in his eyes. It's been awhile since someone held him at gunpoint. 

His smile made Victoria even angry and she pressed the nose against his forehead. "I'm going to make sure you suffer!"

"You can try," Lex replied.

Victoria was cocked the gun, as if getting ready to shoot him when she was tackled from behind. 

Laughter bubbled out of Lex's mouth as he got out of the car, watching Victoria struggle against a golden retriever that has his jaws around her left arm.

"Yeah, outside of the Beanery, no she's not, Karlie got her---"

Lex glanced behind him at the teenage boy, scrawny with a mop of golden-blonde hair, in a blood hoodie and jeans.

Town full of heroes, Lex thought almost sardonically---and felt a sudden piercing pain in his chest, knocking him to the ground. Sharp pain bloomed on the back of his head as his head slammed against the ground and he knew no more.

…

He woke up in the hospital. 

Bright lights, white curtains around his bed, and the smell of sterile alcohol and iodine in his nose. His body was stiff as a board, pain blooming in the upper part of his chest that radiates to his left arm. That definitely felt like he was shot. Thanks to years of being a supervillain, he went from groggy to full alertness within seconds, assisted by the pain when he tried to draw a deep breath. 

The curtains was pulled and Mercy's tired face peaked inside the curtains, shadows marring those blue eyes, blonde curls now loose around her shoulders. "Boss."

"Get me out of here," Lex grunted back as he sat up, pulling his IV's out of his right arm. "How long have I been out?"

"Twelve hours, 'll get Hope started on the paperwork," Mercy nodded as she helped him sit up and covered the IV site with the blanket, then started to pull back the curtains to reveal another slept-in hospital bed next to his own. Mercy probably scared the Smallville staff into letting her stay and to not transfer him to the closest Trauma 1 Center, Metropolis General. The less people figure out he was shot, the better, and news in Smallville are not often an interest to Metropolis Inquisitor if Lex's name was kept out of it.

An unworried Mercy probably meant everything was under control while he was out. 

The windows hinted that it was at least late evening, almost sunset.

"Clark and Lana's here. And the blonde one, Chloe?"

"Let them in," Lex muttered, flopping back onto his bed before noticing that he was completely naked except for a flimsy hospital gown covering his lower half and a thin hospital blanket. White bandages around his left upper chest and a bandage taped across the back of his head. "New clothes, Mercy, and where's my watch?"

His wounds has already started to knit together and he needed to get out before the next time the nurses changes his dressing.

"Hey," Clark said softly as Lana and Chloe pushed all the curtains back. Lana had a bouquet of lilies in her arms. 

Lex gave them a little wave, amused when he realized that Lana was wearing the kryptonite necklace he gave to Clark. Clark never did have any survival instincts. 

"Hey, how are you feeling?" 

The three teenagers was sitting on the bed, wearing different expressions as they look at him in worry.

Bemusedly, Lex stared at Clark next to Chloe for a moment before answering him. There was something different about Clark Kent. "Not bad. Hurts like hell but I'll heal."

"Yeah, you're lucky Eric was there," Chloe said, wrinkling her button nose. 

"Eric?" Lana queried.

Staring at Clark's startling green eyes, Lex realized the electric blue Kryptonian glow had disappeared from behind his gaze and replaced by a confidence that Lex had only seen when Clark was high on red kryptonite. Lex pondered how he felt about this change as his eyes flickered to Lana's neck. _Well_ _now_. 

"Yeah, Eric Summers," Chloe said. "Y'know? Super-boy? The one who got electrocuted today at school. He like carried Lex all the way here."

"Carried?" Lex turned his gaze on Chloe.

"Yep," Chloe grinned. "Like a princess. He pushed the ambulance out of the ambulance bay to get you in here. Why do you think I'm calling him Super-boy?"

Lana was gazing at Chloe with exasperated fondness. 

Wrinkling his nose, Lex smiled easily, ignoring Clark's conflicted expression. "Well, I guess he save my life so I could forgive him for emasculating me. Where is he?"

"At home, probably," Chloe said.

"I'd like to thank him properly, text me his address?" 

"Yeah, no problem."

"Thank you," Lex's eyes flickered to Clark. "Thanks for visiting me, you're probably the only ones to visit me."

"Didn't they call your dad or something?" Chloe asked.

Lana frowned when Lex gave them a shrug. 

"Mom's at home baking a get-well pie, she'll probably be by later," Clark offered, eyebrows drawn in worry, probably the only one who caught the bitterness underneath his poker face. 

Lex shot Clark a grin. "I love your mom's pie, but she'll have to bring it by the manor."

"You can't leave, you just got shot," Lana protested. 

"I probably would get better care back at the manor than here," Lex replied just as the doors open again, letting a pretty petite brunette in a white coat into the room.

Lex bit down on his tongue to resist the instinctual flinch as the _other_ reason why he wanted to get out of here walked into the room. 

"Mr. Luthor, I heard that you're trying to check out," Dr. Helen Bryce said from the side of the bed.

"Not trying, I'm leaving," Lex replied smiling gently, gray eyes returning to it's calm state. "Not that I dislike Smallville Clinic, but I have a personal doctor that will be taking care of me back at the manor, and a personal nurse to change by bandages."

"You lost a lot of blood, I think it would be best to stay another day for observations. If you're blood count looks good tomorrow, I'll let you go, tomorrow."

"Thanks for the offer, Doc." _She's good_. "But I already signed AMA papers, your ass is covered."

The pretty doctor flushed in anger and for a second, Lex remembered why he married her. "It's not my ass I'm worried about," she replied after a moment. "If you insist, however, you have to come back to clinic next week for a check-up."

Lex squinted at her, wondering where Mercy was with that paperwork. "I'll have my doctors contact you with updates.” 

The pretty doctor was about to protest some more but Lex cut her off. “Patients are allowed to make their dumb decisions.” It was one of her favorite quotes.

“And he won’t be alone Dr. Bryce,” Clark interrupted from the other side of the bed.

"I won't?" Lex was now completely amused by Clark's behavior, the confidence, the dark note in his voice when he edged closer to Lex. 

"No, you can stay with us, my mom would love to fuss over you," Clark said. 

"Well, there you go then," Lex said and there was a finality note to his voice.

Helen hesitated before leaving the room reluctantly. "Alright, I'll come back a little later."

Lex almost chuckled. He forgot how stubborn Helen was. She had to be, to put up with him and all his bullshit. Too bad it was not enough to keep her around and their parting was not peaceful. 

"You like her," Clark stated.

Lex tilted his head at him. Lana and Chloe shot each other looks, shifting nervously next to Clark. 

"I like a lot of people Clark," Lex replied softly. "I'm a man of many talents and friends." He almost smiled.

"And thank you for the offer, Clark, I would rather be in my own bed. I paid a pretty penny for that bed, after all."

…

The three teenagers left as Mercy returned, behind her Hope carrying the paperwork and a luggage bag with his change of clothing. 

Hope helped him into the button up shirt and pants, both black as usual, when there was a knock at the doors.

"Hey Lex, can I come in?" Lana's voice sounded and Mercy opened the doors but blocked it with her body.

"Hey Lana, did you forget something?" Mercy asked.

"No, I, um, needed to talk to Lex about something."

"It's alright Mercy," Lex said, fastening the watch Julian had given him on his wrist. He had replaced the black background of the watch's face with black Kryptonite, adding a GPS tracker, and a alarm to alert his body guards when needed. "I'm done getting dressed." 

Lana walked around Mercy to get into the room. Mercy was hot---but intimidating as hell, standing a little over a foot over Lana and built like a cross between an MMA fighter and runway model. 

Well, Hope was too, but Hope was all smiles and kindness where Mercy was rage and storm. 

They were both feeling a tad protective since Lex was shot. First time he had gotten hurt since they started working for him. To be fair, they did not accompany him back to Smallville, the town being quaint and safe enough and they definitely did not expect Victoria to be in town nor did they expect the gun to go off accidentally. 

"Is it about the Talon?"

"How did you know?" 

Lex replied, wincing at the pain in his chest when . "What don't I know? Lana. I was expecting you to call me earlier, since I agreed to buy the theater from Nell."

"What are you planning on doing to it?"

"Well, if this was a perfect world, I wouldn't have even bought it but your aunt is a very persuasive woman." That was a lie, but Lana didn't have to know that. "Now that I've purchased it, the most profitable thing would be to demolish it and use the plot of land for something else. What do you propose?"

"You'll tear it down?" Lana almost whispered. "You can't."

"I can," Lex replied. He smiled at her, nodding a thanks to Hope as he sat down in the wheelchair she had fetched. "But I don't have to." 

Lana looked at him.

"I know for a fact that there's more to you than an airhead happy-go-lucky cheerleader." An amazing head for business and an expert liar, and even at fifteen. "Bring me a proposal for what you want Talon to become. Make it good, Lana, and maybe we can become business partners."

…


	12. Walls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: haha...I'm so glad you guys like my version of Lex. And I apologize if something doesn't make sense aka plot-holes ---please post questions and I'll do my best to answer them. This is my first fic (well, first one I've written down) so there's going to be a lot of things I haven't learned about writing fanfics.

"Clark, what can I do for you?"

They were in the game room several days after he had his run-in with Victoria, this time by the fire. Lex, despite his 'gunshot wound,' was dressed in his signature black suit, lavender shirt without a tie, due to having several international meetings today, was sipping on a glass of whiskey to deal with the current headache that his merger had brought up. One of his board members had made the mistake of talking to a journalist undercover at one of the bars he frequented, and let it slip that an _American_ company is taking over the company. It's not a shit-show, not yet, and will not be if his stand-in can take care of the leak at the source or turn it into a rumor. 

To make matters worse, his father had found out about the shooting and spoke to Victoria, who was now incarcerated, thanks to Lex's amazing team of lawyers. His father will by now find out about his 'friendship' with LLC but has yet to approach him--- making his job all the harder because his father would be watching all of his communications and physical movements. Unfortunately, without Cadmus and Lex's free labor increasing his resources and growing LuthorCorp, Lionel would have one hell of a time trying to figure out Lex's next moves. 

On the Smallville side of thing, he had heard about Clark's recent fight with Eric Summer, and they both fell into the lake. 

Clark was now grounded and was only out of the house because he was helping Mrs. Dearborn bring up some fresh vegetables to the Luthor manor. 

Through the fight, Clark had also some how retrieved his powers, if the glint in his eye was to be believed. Lex stared at him, pondering how does every one around him, friends, families, teachers, missed the visible color change in Clark's eyes. 

"Wanted to see how you’re doing and...I also wanted to ask you something," Clark replied.

Lex raised an eyebrow, putting down the whiskey before leaning back. "I’m doing great, as you can see and you have my undivided attention, Clark."

"Did you only ever paid attention to me because I...I'm not quite normal?" Clark gazed at him. He looked so young and he was young. But there was such openness and _hope_ in his eyes that Lex almost hesitated.

Because the truth was, Clark's powers was probably what drew Lex to him in the first place, but it was his _goodness_ that earned him Lex's friendship, whether it was in his last timeline or this one. Yet there was a lot of good people in the world but there was just something about Clark that always drew his eyes. Whether Clark had his powers or not. 

Perhaps it was Clark's belief that _Lex_ could be good. 

Lex smiled softly at Clark, "I'll admit, that's part of it. But whether or not you have powers, Clark, that's not what made you special. Eric Summers also saved my life, you don't seen me visiting him at the hospital or sending him gifts."

That was partly because if Eric had not intervened, he would not have been shot in the first place, but no one else knew that and he would’ve appeared ungrateful if he spoke up.

Clark's brows draw together in that confused puppy-like stare. "You knew."

"I'm not blind, or deaf, or an idiot, Clark," Lex said, standing up. "And I don't care if you have powers, what they are, or where they come from. You’re still Clark Kent. That doesn’t change.” He came to stand in front of the boy, just an arm's length away as he unbutton the first two buttons of his shirt and pulled on the neck until it revealed the smooth skin of his left shoulder. 

Confusion spread over Clark's face for a moment. "You---"

"I'm not quite normal either," Lex said.

He watched as Clark reached out to touch the smooth skin on his chest, hand warm against his skin where the bullet punctured his lungs, fingertips roughened by years and years of farm-work. Lust and want flickered in those blue-green eyes and Lex backed off, rebuttoning his shirt. 

Lex almost sighed at the thought that he was going to bed alone, _again_. But revealing what he was, what the meteor shower had turned him into, hurts. He needed time to go back into his box and lick his wounds. Like Clark needed time to grow up. 

"Go home, Clark, I think you're still grounded and Martha wound give _me_ a thrashing if she knew I kept you out late."

…

A few days later, the Talon theater was now missing the outside neon signs, replaced by a refurbished sign of ' _The Talon'_ alongside the depiction of coffee cup. It has taken Lana less than two days to come up with the proposal, research on historical significance of the building, and plans to make the Talon successful. 

With Lex's support this time around, it took no time for renovation on the Talon to finish, accompanying the opening of coffeeshop was the latest model of coffee brewers that makes everything from lattes to expresso. 

"So why am I here?" Tina groused. Chocolate curls bouncing as she rounded the Porsche from the passenger side to follow him into the coffee shop. Dark eyeshadows complemented the sleeveless t-shirt and ripped jeans the girl was sporting. Her wry expression a near exact copy's of Mercy. Of course, it was much less intimidating coming from a sixteen year old girl. 

Hope was a little slower in coming out of the car, speaking quietly into the phone. 

"Your first job," Lex replied. He made an annoyed noise as he peeled her arm off his waist. "No touching, remember?"

"Hope and Mercy does," Tina pouted. "Hope basically dressed you in the morning when you got shot."

"Well, she's not underage," Lex said. "And I trust her."

"And you don't trust me?"

"That's still being debated, come on," Lex said, pushing her into the Talon. 

At midday on a weekend, the Talon was completely empty with Lana reading a book behind the coffee counter. The whole place was split into two sections. The windows was aligned with long tables, stools, with new electrical outlets on the ground. Various sets of sofas and coffee tables scattered throughout the front half. The back started with ornate bookcases stocked with children's books, young adults, and various genres of books including comics. In a separate glass book case was also the original, autographed copy of the Warrior Angel series donated by Lex himself. 

"Hey Lex," Lana looked up from her book, long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. There were shadows around her eyes and not all of it was from fatigue. 

"Lana," Lex greeted before pushing Tina forward. "A minion, as promised."

"Hey," Tina did a little wave. "Aren't your that cheerleader that's dating what's-his-name, Whiney?"

"Uh yeah," Lana said. "What do you want to drink, Lex, on the house?"

"Coffee, two milk, two sugar," Lex said, settling on the stool.

"Where is he by the way, thought you two were attached at the hips?" Tina persisted with a devious smile on her face. Lex almost rolled his eyes because it was not like Lana was the one who decided Tina was going to work here. Trying to piss Lana off would only make her first job unpleasant.

Tina was underage and while she would make a competent body guard, after her training under Mercy and Hope, Lex was not about to have his masculinity ripped off by having a sixteen-year-old girl as his bodyguard. Secondly, she has her own goals and couldn't very well listed several, probably illegal, not FDA-approved, experiments underneath her belt. Granted, they were not human experiments. He didn't do those, not anymore. 

"I'm not sure," Lana sighed, putting the mug of coffee down on the counter next to where Lex was flipping through a copy of Odysseus.

"Trouble in paradise?”

"He-, He started hanging out with these guys when his father got sick and I just, I haven't seen him around," Lana continued. "These guys that he's hanging with, they give me a bad feeling."

Lex stared at Lana and for a moment, he was split between taking pride because Lana was coming to him for help, willingly, believing that he would help, and the bitterness that churned his stomach because, he realized with a jolt, she was a complete stranger. Without Clark as a catalyst, he would never have wanted Lana at all. She was smart and beautiful, and ruthless, but many women were smart and beautiful and ruthless. And he hated them.

"I'm sure it's nothing, boys will be boys and all that," Lex replied. "But you have my number."

Lana smiled gratefully. That promise was what she probably wanted out of Lex. "Thank you."

He couldn't say no. He was trying to be good after all.

…

After settling Tina into the coffee shop for the remainder of the shift, Lex opted to hit the local grocery market with Hope at his heels. He had taken to do that since arriving here, initially giving the town food for the rumor mill but after several weekly appearances, no one bats an eye. Even when Hope and/or Mercy trailed behind him while he picked out vegetables. 

And had them delivered to the mansion because even without LuthorCorp, Lex was still a multi-billionaire.

“Lex,” Hope warned as they pulled into the mansion’s driveway.

Parked in the driveway was Lionel’s black limo. 

"Have Mercy come up as well, and bring file 21.7 with her."

Lex made his way through the mansion. The lights in the hallway was always on, showing off terracotta statues, armors, and ancient weapons collected. A few of them bordered on the supernatural and alien. 

As expected, he found Lionel in his study.

The elder Luthor was alone, staring at a flower that stood in the middle of the study. It shone unnaturally underneath the study light, encased in glass that could only open with Lex's thumb print. 

"Father," Lex greeted. He hasn't seen the man since Christmas and he doubted that his father was here for a late holiday visit. 

"Ah Lex," Lionel greeted, sparing him a glance before returning to the flower.

"Where's Dominic? You're never without him these days," Lex queried, uncomfortable at the thought that someone under his father's thumb was wandering the mansion. It had taken him three long days to rid the mansion of his father's cameras and remodeled it for his own uses. Of course, the staff he hired, most of them either metahumans or just downright _not_ humans, would take care of Lionel's assistant if he gets handsy.

"Yes, the jealousy gets annoying after awhile," Lionel nodded.

"Thought you would like that, someone who kisses your ass at every turn," and is actually competent at his job, but Lex would rather bite his tongue to admit that. 

Still have to admire the guy for managing to outsmart Lex out of LexCorp and trapping him in financial ruin, until Lex got his company back and had him killed. Would have scouted him for LLC if the man was not too greedy than he is ambitious. 

"Manners, Lex," Lionel admonished before turning to face him. 

Biting back a frustrating growl at the well of disappointment his father always bring, Lex dropped himself into the study chair not too gracefully. "What do you want, father?"

"You know what I want."

"And you have my answer. I'm not terminating over 2000 employees just because you're punishing me for Cadmus."

His phone buzzed. Lex glanced down. _Clark,_ from Hope's phone. 

"Oh it's not for Cadmus." Complete shit, of course. "You're getting too attached to this town. Smallville isn't your future."

 _Just a brief chapter in my biography_. Lex finished the thought. "And yet you were the one who sent me here. It's not my problem that you did not factor in the possibility that I turned the plant around without having to fire anyone."

"I want you to come back, to LuthorCorp."

"I'm going to decline that too because it's not really an offer, _not really_ ," Lex said, pity in his eyes. "You want me where you can watch, can monitor to make sure I don't become stronger than you.

"Admit it, you made the wrong move sending me to Smallville."

"What can you do on your own? Without LuthorCorp, you're nothing," his father said darkly. 

Lex nodded, not rising to the bait. "And I'm alright with that."

"Think about your brother."

Anger burned hot in his chest as Lex stared unblinkingly at his father, sheer determination to keep the anger at bay. "You won't touch him, he's your only _legitimate_ heir left. The only one young enough to mold into a good little pet and probably the only one who will mourn your death despite everything you've done.

"Ms. Mercer won't mourn someone like you and Lucas is a greedy son-of-bitch. Me? You lost me the moment you were willing to threaten Julian to control me. I gave you a chance to become a real father" ---with Julian's survival "and you failed."

"So I suggest you stop trying to control me before I'm angry enough to take out LuthorCorp," Lex said. 

His phone buzzed again. _Intruder, 3,_ _metas (?)_. 

His mind spun. So many things happened the first year he moved to Smallville, including several metahumans that got it into their heads that the Luthors was the root of their problems. Maybe but that did not mean that they were guilty of everything and despite of how much he hated Lionel, the man was still his father.

"Now get out of Smallville, no one welcomes you here---"

He was cut off as a hand wrapped around his mouth and nozzle of a gun pressed against the side of his neck.

"Quiet," warm skin pressed against the side of his forehead as another figure dressed in all black, hooded, and masked, _phased_ through the walls behind Lionel and pistol-whipped him across the back of his head.

Lionel dropped to the ground in a heap.

"Now tell us, where's the safe?" The hand wrapped around his mouth slipped down to wrap it around his neck, which was slender and the hand was large enough to complete encircle it. 

It took a lot for him to not roll his eyes at the threat. He remembered these idiots. He glance at the other black figure, the tall one. "Whitney, does Lana knows what you're doing?"

The black figure froze. 

"That would make you Derek?" Lex tilted his head back to glance at the intruder behind him. "Or Scott?"

He felt the hand holding his mouth tense and took the chance to rip the gun out of his hand before kneeing the guy in the crotch. Whitney took his collar and easily dragged him over the study desk and pain bloomed across his face. Someone kicked him in the stomach, sending him back against the balcony doors.

_Fuck, where was his bodyguards?_

The next thing he knew, Whitney was flying back, slamming against the painting of one of his long-lost ancestors, breaking the frame before slumping against the ground. 

"Clark?" Lex blinked up at the familiar blurry tall frame, making out the blue of Clark's well-worn sweater. 

There was movement in the corner of his eyes as a figure with long blonde hair subdued the other intruder. Lex closed his eyes, trying to stop the throbbing in his head. Somewhere far away, he heard glass break and Clark was holding cradling his head and everything went black. 

…

Lex came to a few minutes before the cops arrived, blacking out only for about ten minutes and waking up to Clark's warm green eyes and glinted of something a bit darker than worry. 

"I'm fine," Lex huffed out, struggling to sit up. 

Clark was a heat generator and in any other situation, Lex might have liked to have that warm body pressed against his but not when his father was sitting across from him on the sofa with an icepack pressed to his head. 

And three black figures on the floor, knocked out and tied up. 

"What happened?"

"Idiots happened," Mercy griped from the other side of the room, laptop on, well, her lap. "Scott Bowman and Derek Fox. High school dropouts. They have a rap sheet a mile long." She glared at Lex. "And you need to start training with us again, can't believe that guy knocked you out with one punch?"

"That's what I pay you for," Lex snarked back, closing his eyes tightly when the headache came back in full force. His three intruders were certainly not completely human judging by the phasing ability and the bit-more-than-human strength. He probably had some sort of cerebral bleeding, judging by how long it was taking for him to heal. 

"You're joining us on Monday," Hope said, in a tone that brokered no argument. 

"You let them talk to you like this?"

Lex almost fostered up the strength to glare at his father. "I told you to leave. Didn't I?" Before Lionel could reply, Lex turned to Hope. "Get Whitney out of here. Take him to detox and then Lana's."

Lionel stayed quiet as the cops pulled up in front of the mansion. 

They took Derek and Scott away. Derek was probably going to the hospital first before the county jail due to a broken leg when Mercy or Hope threw him out the windows. 

Lex saw the disapproval on Lionel's face as the paramedics cleaned off his scratches. "Don't start father."

"What? Can't I care about my own son?"

Lex sighed. His relationship with Lionel was complicated at best and not for the first time Lex wished that he had a normal family instead. "Despite what you might think, I'm not going soft. Whitney is...a means to an end. Let it go, father." 

…

Lionel left some time after the Sheriff County officers and the only one left in Lex's living room was Clark. 

The first few buttons of his shirt was unbutton, so was his cuffs, and he toed off his shoes before flopping onto the sofa next to Clark.

"You should really be more careful, especially around my father," Lex murmured. 

"Lex…" Clark pulled him into a hug, face pressed against the side of his neck and to Lex's shock, his face was wet. He's never seen Clark cried. He supposed that the current Clark Kent was still only a fifteen-year-old small-town boy, not a jaded superhero with years of fighting evil under his belt.

And no one's ever cried for him before. Even Tess.

"I thought I lost you." Clark whispered, barely audible. 

"It's not that easy to get rid of me," Lex said, forcing a lighter tone into his voice. "And you were there to save me, my white knight yet again."

He turned his head to press a kiss against Clark's forehead. "Come on, let's get you home--"

Lex's mouth was claimed in a heated kiss, sloppy, passionate and uncertain at the same time. "Clark," he whispered softly into the kiss, opening his mouth as Clark held onto him, viselike grip on his waist and a gentle hand on his neck, forcing him to tilt his head back.

Lex felt dizzy by the intensity of the kiss and before he knew it, he was on his back on the sofa with Clark towering over him, legs splayed on either side of Clark's waist. Hands gripped his waist, pulling him against Clark as the boy ground up against him.

Definitely did not feel like a boy. Definitely didn't kiss like one either. 

"Clark, stop," Lex hissed out as Clark bit him on the neck, clumsy hands yanking on his shirt, reaching for as much skin as he could find. And it felt good to be touched, to be wanted and cared for, and Clark _felt_ and _tasted_ so dam right. Lex was a sight with his clothes mussed and lips bitten-red, faint bruising on his waist and neck.

He felt a hand reached for the buttons of his pants and grabbed Clark's face with both hands. "Clark, look at me." He forcibly turned him and stared into electric blue eyes, pupils blown with desire. "Stop."

He watched as Clark drew back as if slapped, hurt marring his expression.

"I'm leaving Smallville," Lex whispered, softening his grip, thumbing at Clark's jawline. 

"I thought you told your dad---"

"Yes, but I'm not going back to Metropolis." Lex said. 

LLC HQ was stationed in Metropolis, but LLC was in the process of branching out, with secondary HQs all over the US including Gotham and Star City. Lex had a hand in every pie, invested in food, electronics, and travel companies all over the United States. 

"The world's big, Clark. Bigger than Smallville, bigger than Metropolis and one day, you'll get the chance to see it with your own eyes." Lex said, slowly crawling off Clark's lap and Clark reluctantly let him.

"Why can't you stay?"

Lex almost laughed at the petulant tone, gray eyes shining with humor.

"When?" Clark demanded.

"A week, maybe two." He brushed his finger against Clark's cheekbones. "I could stay, yes, but I want to be...more than friends and you're not ready."

He watched the conflicted expression in Clark's eyes.

"One day, you will be," Lex smiled, leaning forward to press a kiss against his lips, watching Clark's eyes traced his lips. "And if you still want me," like he did today, "I'll be waiting."

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @Viciche: He's not rushing....you're an adult + teenage hormones + love of your life (Lex don't know that yet) in front of you. Clark on the other hand is a teenager that is crushing on Lex. They never truly hooked up (I'm not sure what secret breakup you're talking about); they kissed and occasionally make out #UST. Them getting together is not so much a paradox as Lex learning how to open himself, learn how to love, and learn how to let himself be loved. 
> 
> Also, Lex tried it with another man mainly because Clark once again, refused to be honest so from Lex was frustrated (sexually and emotionally), he was looking for comfort.


	13. Buyout

"You're too predictable Lex," Hope snarled.

"My father's predictable," Lex said breathlessly as he flopped down onto the mat. Hope pulled her punches but gravity still hurts when she throws him over her shoulder. He healed fast, an expert marksman and adequate swordsman, but a poor fighter against the likes of metahumans. "I fight with my brain, not my brawn."

"Whatever helps you through your morning hustle with Mercy tomorrow," Hope replied.

Taking her hand, Lex allowed Hope to pull him to his feet. As she put the mats away, Lex took for his bedroom. He pulled off the sweat-soaked t-shirt and gym pants, quickly showered and changed into his signature black suit. 

Hope had changed, Brandon had breakfast ready for him when he exited his bedroom, and Mercy was prepping his paperwork for the speech he was going to give in Smallville.

"Did my father signed the papers?"

"Yes, after the _Nicodemus_ was delivered." Mercy replied. "You did wave it in front of his nose at the last visit."

"Not obvious enough cause he still gave up the plant for only twice the market value price." Lex shot back. 

The meeting with Smallville various farmers and plant employees and senior management was scheduled at ten a.m. Lex was early at the Smallville townhall and people were already aggregating. Lex waved to a few employees that he did recognized and made his way over to the Kents, who he did not expect to be here. 

"Mr. Kent, Martha," he greeted from behind.

"Lex," Martha replied as she jumped and turned around. "Oh sweetheart, we heard from Clark about what your father said."

Now that was a surprise, what _did_ Clark tell his parents?

He was certainly surprised again by the hug Martha gave him and the pat on the arm by a very awkward Jonathan Kent, who no longer had the outright hostility towards him. "If your father really did disinherit you for trying to help this town, you're always welcome to stay with us," Martha said and Mr. Kent did not protested the statement.

That elicited a chuckle out of Lex and he returned the hug gratefully. "I'll keep that in mind." 

Lex did not intend to live on the Kent's farm as he had in the past when his father kicked him out. He liked the Kent's home, warm, and loving like a family should be, but he did not enjoy mucking out horse shit and rolling hay. Been there, done that.

"Excuse me," Lex said, kissing Martha on the cheek before letting them go.

He called the meeting together, proposed a worker's buyout, with Lex as the main buyer. The meeting gone far smoother without his father buying out _Smallville Loans_ to threaten all the workers with their mortgages. His last announcement was that once the purchased was finalized and the plant was now in the hands of Smallville, with Lex as private shareowner, Lex would be leaving town.

Of course, he could always be reached by senior management of the plant if problems arise. Then again, if he was contacted because of anything short of a hostile takeover, then the new manager he hired for Smallville Plant is a waste of his money. 

During the meet, while Lex answered questions and make nice with residents of Smallville, Hope had gone on ahead to oversee the operation of clearing out the mansion's basement and his labs. Most of his research was dispersed now throughout his labs scattered across the US, while his stuff was shipped to his penthouse atop LLC tower in Metropolis. 

Mercy was his assistant/bodyguard this morning and watched the proceedings from the double doors. 

He was leaving town after the meeting and texted Clark as much that morning. Whether the boy would come to see him off, well, that's was another thing altogether. 

"Drive carefully," Mercy said, hand him the keys on the way out. "And the jet is ready to leave Metropolis when you get there. I'll see you there." 

Lex nodded and found Clark standing next to his Porsche Carrera as Mercy promised. The would-be-superhero stood alone on the sidewalk, hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched. He had a sad smile on his face as Lex neared.

"Come to see me off?"

Clark did that thing with his eyebrow, nodding. "Yeah. Is that alright?"

Lex's face softened. "Get in, I'll drive you home. Your parents already left by now."

In the Porsche, Lex turned on the eat and grabbed a little black box with a purple bowtie from the glove compartment. He dropped it into Clark's lap as he climbed into the car. "Here."

"Shouldn't I be getting you the gift?" _You're the one leaving_ , was the unspoken line.

"Just open it," Lex groused. 

Inside was a necklace, with a thin, braided and charmed black leather band, and at the end was a black rock the size of Lex's thumb, carved in the head of the shape of a teardrop. Clark does not know of it yet but the rock was black Kryptonite, originally green and treated with radiation until it turned black. As long as it was touching Clark's skin, he was immune to effects of kryptonite minerals. 

Not that it has been tested against every type of kryptonite, of course, but it was effective at least against the green meteorites on the test run as Lex's ring. 

"That's not me saying sorry for leaving," Lex said as they pulled up to the Kent farm driveway. Neither of them got out of the car. "I don't know how you got your powers Clark, but _that_ , as long as you keep it on you, should protect you from the green meteor rocks."

"Don't lose it, wasn't cheap to make," Lex continued, ignoring the surprise on Clark's face. 

"How much do you know?"

"Enough, and not enough," Lex replied, ignoring the niggling voice in his head told him over and over that Clark would never trust him. He scanned Clark's face, relieved to only find _trust_ and wonder when he stared at Lex.

Sighing, Lex tapped the black kryptonite. "Inside it is also a GPS tracker," he continued. "It's _not_ on."

Unless Clark disappear off the face of the earth. "And I'm not interested in figuring out your secrets. I'm waiting for you to tell me it yourself."

From where he was sitting, he spot the curtains of the Kent's living room moved and smiled. "You should go in, I got a flight to catch."

A few long seconds as Clark just stared at him before he climbed out and rounded the car to lean against his window.

"Bye, Lex," Clark mumbled dejectedly.

Lex knows that he would be fine. Clark was surrounded by family, friends, and those who love him. 

And it was not the end between them, because Lex would not allow it. 

"Goodbye, Clark."

END - Arc 1. 


	14. Interlogue - Character/Actor List

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Essential - Characters and the actors combinations listed out - B/c so many actors have played any of the characters in my fanfic so this is to help with ya'll imagination and this helps me keep 'em straight. This will be edited over time as the story evolves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So I had to rewrite the entire Smallville Timeline for Season 2 & 3 without Lex's involvement, so that it can makes sense to me with as little paradoxical events as possible when story picks up after season 3. If anyone wants to see what changes I made to each episode or lack thereof, let me know and I'll post my notes (which are bullet points and not actual writing). 
> 
> Otherwise, enjoy Arc 2. 
> 
> P.S. Outline for Arc 2 is done and I'm really, really excited to start writing it. =3

**Character - Actor**

Lex Luthor - Michael Rosenbaum 

Clark Kent - Tom Welling 

Lionel Luthor - John Glover

Julian Luthor - Michael Cassidy

Tina Greer - Lizzy Caplan (short, wavy hair, dark makeup)

Oliver Queen - Justin Hartley (I'm a fan of Arrow TV show but Justin fits better in terms of the personality I decided on for future Green Arrow)

Lois Lane - Margot Kidder

Bruce Wayne - Undecided; up to you guys and your imagination

Hope/Mercy - check their comic wiki page for visual representation

Regan Matthews - Ari Cohen


	15. Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arc 2 Begins. This picks up sort of a mix between last episode of season 3 and beginning of season 4.  
> \- Lionel's in jail cause he murdered his parents for insurance money. Chloe faked her death to avoid Lionel's assassin. Clark Kent entered the light in the Kawatche cave in order to save Jonathan Kent. Jonathan Kent is in a coma.  
> \- AU events (which will be explained later, maybe): Tina took Lana to Paris after Chloe's 'funeral' to getaway. Lucas took the chance to takeover LuthorCorp while Lionel serves his time. Julian is still at Excelsior Academy.

**_Lex_ **

"You were suppose to keep an eye on him," Lex held back the growl in his tone as Tina made her monthly report to him as he stepped off the private jet onto Metropolis International Airport.

Really, he should have gone for weekly reports from his little teenage assistant/spy but Tina would have given him crap for keeping Clark on too close of a leash. Now the superhero had disappeared with his last known location being the Kawatche caves, where local police had found a comatose Jonathan Kent and signs of a struggle. In the older Kent's grip was Clark's pendant that Lex gave him, which made the GPS inside completely useless. 

Even last summer, even when Clark decide to run away and used the red Kryptonite to forget his troubles, he still kept the pendant in his pockets but now, Clark was truly untraceable. Not even Lex's best telepathic metahuman could pick up Clark anywhere on _Earth_ , as Tina just informed him.

"And I did," Tina responded insolently. "I saved his ass every single time he got himself into trouble he couldn't get himself out of. Did you know how much I had to lie to Lana about all that money that was technically _yours_? The one time I wasn't looking he followed after some piece of tail and disappear off the face of the Earth. I'm not fucking God, y'know. Even _your best trackers_ can't find him."

"Maybe he doesn't want to be found, maybe that's why he took off the GPS," Tina muttered.

Lex hung up the phone as a Benz-Mercedes pulled up in front of the jet. He climbed into the back and Regan Matthews handed him laptop. Lex wistfully missed the day of tablets and smartphones which his company will start producing within the next seven months, two months ahead of schedule. 

"Regan," he greeted.

"Lex," LLC Metropolis CEO replied. Regan Matthews, thirty-two-year-old, half-British with light eyes and dark hair, wearing a iron gray suit neatly pressed, one of Lex's most loyal minions.

The man had remained on his staff even he lost LexCorp and had worked to get him out of Belle Reve. If he did not ended up married to a woman, Lex would have thought Regan was in love with him. 

Hope hopped into the passenger seat, directing the chauffer to Lex's private tower in Metropolis downtown. 

Lex scrolled through the most recent data of business LLC had purchased and most recent negotiation of a shared venture with Queen's Industries into purchasing a mine down in Peru. Profits has been steady at 105% compared to the previous year, which was more than Lex could ask for, given that the 5% equates to just about 3.2 billion dollars into his private holdings after taxes and wages were paid for. 

"Not bad, give yourself a nice raise for me, would you?" Lex grinned at him before his eyes went back to the numbers. 

If he hadn't, he would not have missed the light blush across Regan's face. 

"Not a problem, it was your plan, I merely carried it out." 

"But you made it happen," Lex replied. "I give credit where it's due."

The car pulled up in front of Lex's private tower, an ten-story building almost a century old, at least on the outside. Inside, the top two floors was his private floors and only a handful of people in the world have access to. The middle six was various apartments, a few of them occupied to metahumans that worked for him. The bottom two floors included a completely decked out gym that included sparring areas, Olympic-size swimming pool, and shooting range. 

And two underground floors with its own entrance way, which they pulled into. 

"Brunch this Saturday?" 

"Of course," Regan nodded, watching Lex as he climbed out of the car. 

…

A quick shower and check-in with Julian, Lex, accompanied by Mercy, was now in his Maserati Spyder making his way across town to Kansas State Penitentiary. 

Already, his car was attracting interested gazes and attention of paparazzi that had gotten wind of his return to Metropolis. Of course, the LEX III plate on his car convertible was hard to miss. 

Of course, he was not the most well-known Luthor out there. The scandal with his father's trial and Lucas' coup d'état for LuthorCorp certainly dragged the Luthor name through the mud the last two years. He, on the other hand, besides his friendship with the mysterious CEO of LLC, was not as impressive. Finally Julian, the youngest Luthor at age 11, had only gained minor attention from Metropolis Inquisitor.

And no one knows Tess Mercer, who also ruled LLC Gotham HQ with her will of iron, was Lex's illegitimate, older sister. Not even Lionel knew she existed until she came after their father when Lex disappeared. 

Hope had called ahead and the prison opened its doors to him like hot knife through butter. 

It was not long until he was sitting across from his father, legs crossed, staring at the familiar face of a stranger. "Hello father."

"Lex! You've come to see me." 

"You look good." Lex commented. That was a lie of course, Lionel looked at least ten years older than his fifty-five years, with hair almost completely gray and more lines around his mouth than he remembered from his visit to Metropolis eight months ago. 

His father gave him a dry look and it irked Lex that Lionel, even in prison, still knew more than he ever would about the secrets of this world. 

"Clark Kent," Lex stated.

"Ah, Jonathan's boy," Lionel replied. 

"I would play word games with you, father, but my time is expensive nowadays," Lex said, cutting to the chase. "Where is Clark?"

Lionel leaned back, arms wide gesturing at around him. "And how would I know? I've been here, all locked up just like you and your brother wanted."

" _I_ was not the one who locked you up."

"But you didn't raise a damned finger to keep me out."

"I thought you had _control_ of everything. Besides, you should count yourself lucky that patricide was a trait that was only passed onto one of your sons." His tone meant Lucas, but really, it could also have meant Lex as well as he ended his father's life in his first life. Unlike his grandparents, his father deserved it. 

"Besides, you weren't going to keep working for much longer, not with your liver disease," Lex continued.

Lionel glared at him and Lex knew he'd strike a cord.

"I know, I've read the reports." Lex sighed. "Tell me where Clark Kent disappeared to, or better yet, what else you know about him, and I'll make sure to shorten your sentence gets shorten."

"Three months."

"A year." Lex countered.

"Four."

"You killed your parents, _my grandparents_. Eleven months."

"You wouldn't have liked them, four and a half," Lionel replied before leaning forward. "Kawatche caves."

Tilting his head, Lex resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Ten and a half. I know _where_ he disappeared, question is where he is now?"

"Six months, last offer," Lionel said. 

Lex narrowed his eyes at Lionel, realizing with no small amount of displeasure that he inherited his father's eye colors, gray, with specks of blue in them. 

"Fine. Tell me."

"Dominic Sanatori," Lionel said, rising to his feet. "And I'll be waiting for that plea."

Lex met his eyes. "I always keep my word." 

…

The thing about having money and connections. It just doesn't buy power and open doors. It was also a useful tool to oil the system and grease your ways through all the loopholes that formed the United States legal system. A few hundred grand here and there, his father's sentence was reduced to a mere six months, with good behavior and that was not hard for a slimy snake like Lionel Luthor. 

Two hours after the process went through, Dominic Sanatori hand-delivered the promised hard-drive to LexCorp, which Mercy had couriered to his tower. 

Booting up his computer, he disconnected from any private servers and the internet before plugging in the hard-drive.

Better safe than sorry.

Twenty minutes later, Lex was partly considering patricide as the only useful thing Lionel had told him was a complete version of _Naman_ and Lex had never cared for legends. If he did, he would not have refused to accept his fate and traveled back in time. The fact that he succeeded proved that fate was note set in stone and that each of his decisions puts him on a different path. 

Shutting the laptop, he dropped the hard-drive into one of his locked drawers. 

Although, the other useful thing it told him, was that Naman was connected to the Stone of Power. 

Changing into casual jeans and a soft, cashmere sweater, Lex wandered his penthouse until he reached his office. Inside in the corner was a statue of the Egyptian god Anubis just thinner than his forearm and a foot and a half long. He had gotten it on one of his trips to Egypt, unearthed by yours truly when he joined a dig site on a whim. 

He stared at the statue contemplatively before letting it drop to the floor, watching it shatter into a million pieces.

The room, with low lighting from his chandelier, was instantly lit up in a white-blue glow as a crystal the size of Lex's fist now lay on the ground in the middle of broken ceramic and clay. 

Lex once again, wondered at his luck as he picked up the shard of crystal, staring at it in wonder--- when all the glass in his study shattered.

Falling to the ground, Lex blinked in shock. Sharp pain cut across his forearms where he landed on the shattered glass and his cheeks when it went flying past him. A man landed in front of him and Lex tracked the pair of farming boots up muscled thighs encased in rugged black jeans, and finally settling on a black t-shirt. 

"Clark," Lex almost bit his lip in shock as the man who _looked_ a lot like Clark Kent yanked him up by the arms and slammed him against the wall. 

"Clark's not here right now. The name is Kal-El."

…


	16. Child of the Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N:  
> @SaltyMia: lulz.

"I am Kal-El of Krypton.”

Clark's eyes was brighter than he's ever seen it and his gaze was sharp, curious as he stared down at Lex. His voice was deeper, rough and almost devoid of any emotion as he towered over Lex, his arm a viselike grip around Lex’s waist holding him still. It was Clark’s face but his eyes did not belonged to Smallville’s unassuming farm-boy. Just how much did Lex missed in the last few years. 

Kal-El's fingers rubbed against Lex's cheek, cleaning away the blood to reveal soft, baby-smooth skin underneath. 

He even smelled like Clark, Lex thought. Trapped between the solid body of the Kryptonian and the wall of his study, forced to look into the depth of Kal-El's eyes, Lex swallowed, his mouth suddenly drier than the deserts of Egypt. A flush pinkening his cheeks and traveled down his neck as lust curled dark and hot in the pit of his stomach. 

Of course, Lex was never one to show all his cards even if he's got none. "Well, Kal-El. Nice to meet you."

The Kryptonian did not respond, instead leaning forward until he was just a breath away from the curve of Lex's ears and then his nose was brushing against his ears, sniffing delicately. He nosed his way down along his pulse until he reached the curve of Lex's neck next to his Adam's apple. 

Lex relaxed imperceptible. He could work with curiosity.

Kal-El was familiar yet foreign to him, similar to the Superman that Bruce Wayne resurrected, yet distinctly different. The way he stared at Lex was almost reminiscent of Clark's; blue eyes wide with wonder yet intense as if he was the most fascinating thing on this planet, the only worthy enough to be reflected in his eyes. Unlike Superman, Clark made Lex feel powerful and in control. Yet unlike Clark, Kal-El had no familiarity in his eyes, only curiosity and perhaps a bit of lust.

"You're not afraid of me," Kal-El murmured, breath hot against the tip of his ears. The hand on his cheek slid down until it laid over his heart that was beating a mile a minute. The arm around his waist was now stroking at the skin just above the waistband of his pants. 

"Should I be?" Lex returned, his voice sounding calmer than he felt. Only the fact that he had over five decade of practicing self-control stopped Lex from pressing back against Kal-El.

"Don't challenge me," Kal-El warned, tone as if he was stating a fact despite the storm in his blue eyes that swirled with anger and desire.

Well, at least his expertise at reading Clark/Kal-El's emotions was still there. "And what would you do if I am?" Lex pushed. 

His eyes widened when Kal-El sent him flying. 

He didn't land in a heap of broken furniture and glass as Hope caught him in midair and dropped him to the ground a bit gentler than his fall would have been. If he had been less shocked that Clark would ever hurt him, he would have caught the tip of Kal-El's ears turning a fetching shade of pink. 

Across the room, Mercy jumped at Clark from behind, bringing down the electric baton she always carry somewhere on her persons. Clark fling an arm at her but rather than sending her flying, Mercy hooked an arm around his, flinging herself into an arc and slamming her feet on his chest. 

Clark didn't bat an eye as he grabbed Mercy around the neck and threw her against the wall. 

He looked straight at Lex who was still sitting on the ground where Hope left him.

Hope took a step in front of Lex, twin silver ornate handles of her Smith & Wesson in either hand, nozzle pointing straight at Clark. "Get out." 

The Kryptonian made a noise of annoyance before picking up the still-glowing crystal Lex dropped onto the floor when he was flung across the room. A second later, Kal-El was gone, leaving behind a mirage of himself as he took flight. 

“Mercy!” Hope holstered her guns and rush to Mercy's side.

His blonde Amazonian bodyguard groaned softly as Hope shook her before growling in frustration. 

It was not everyday one gets knocked around by a Kryptonian, Lex supposed, feeling a little dazed himself at the quick turn of events. Well, that was before he realized that he had lost the one way to track Clark. Annoyed and a bit pissed off that he errored in predicting Clark---Kal-El's behavior, Lex left Hope and Mercy to patch up their bruises before going back to his room.

However, Luthors do not brood and the first thing he did was to clean up the blood from his face and forearms, and call a construction company. A quick shower took care of the blood, and he received texts from Hope that the construction crew had cleaned up the glass and reinstall bulletproof windows. Those windows will not stand up to Clark, or any metahuman with Super-Strength for that matter, but while metahumans are predictable in their confidence of their powers, hired assassins and bullets are not.

The second thing he did was to call Martha Kent, who picked up on the third ring. “Hello? Kent farm, Martha speaking.” 

“Martha? It’s Lex Luthor.”

...

The Kent farm was a nostalgic sight as Lex pulled into the dirt driveway. He was alone, a rarity since he left Smallville two years ago, constantly accompanied by Hope, Mercy, or one of their replacements. For this trip, he left them in the city as he was planning on going to the caves to find out what was really going on. He couldn't risk anyone else discovering Clark's origin, especially if Kal-El _was_ Clark and not a clone of his. Lex leaned on the theory of Clark being cloned, since even when Clark was high on red Kryptonite, he still recognized everyone around him. 

On the porch, Martha Kent was waiting for him, red hair pulled up in a bun. She had more gray hair than he remembered her having and exhaustion coloring her features. "Lex," she greeted, coming down the steps. 

"Martha, how are you?" Lex said as she hugged him, mildly disappointed when she let him go. 

"I'm...I'm alright," she said. And she probably was right. Martha was one of the toughest women Lex ever gone up against. 

That said, she deserved his respect more so than Lionel ever did. "I know he's been missing for months but I saw Clark last night. He broke into my apartment."

"What?"

"I didn't want to mention it on the phone," Lex continued. "I'm going to go to the caves where he disappeared to look for clues." Because what Kal-El took from Lex's penthouse apartment was a Stone of Power, an artifact of Krypton, and as far as Lex knew, the only place with similar technology was the Kawatche caves and the Fortress of Solitude. The North Pole was a bit far for Lex on a moment's notice, even with his wealth and resources, so he went to the other best option.

Martha grabbed his arms, opening her mouth as if to say no.

"Don't worry, I'm not going alone," Lex said, patting her hand. "I'm a Luthor, I don't do anything without being sure of the outcome." 

"That's not what I'm worried about Lex," Martha gripped his hand, "Clark is...different."

"I know," Lex replied and for the first time, sympathized with Kal-El.

Despite not remembering a thing, Martha was still Clark's mother and a mother should not be afraid of her own son...but Martha was. No wonder Kal-El looked at Lex with so much wonder when he did not even hinted at fear. 

"Well, if you're going after him, you're going to need this," Martha pressed a black geode into his hand. It was a bit smaller than his fist, with millions of reflected surface and despite it's unrefined state, Lex still recognized it for what it was. 

Lex frowned. "Where did you get this?"

"Bridgette Crosby gave it to me," Martha replied. 

Blinking, Lex searched his mind for the name that sounded both familiar but unable to recall a face or memory of meeting such a person. Her name, however, was linked with Dr. Swann, the member of mysterious organization Veritas that had sworn to protect _Naman_. Lionel was also a member, Lex remembered, but the group was wiped out when Clark Kent became Superman. How they were wiped out still remained a mystery and Lex never bothered searching into his past, so occupied he was with his war against Superman. 

"What's wrong with it?"

Lex rolled the black Kryptonite in his palm. "I'm not sure," Lex said truthfully. "I've seen this before." Hell, he practically invented it based off of Dr. Swann's research. Yet he did not remember the good doctor ever succeeding in creating this particular of meteor rocks. So many things he did not know, so many unknown factors influencing the sequence of events. 

"Anyway, I should get going." Lex said, sticking the geode into his pockets. He took the biggest gamble by returning to the past, walking into another unknown scenario was nothing new. 

…

Leaving the farm, he drove another mile out of town, into the woods until the road was not large enough for his Ferrari and parked. From there, it was another few hundred yards until the entrance to the cavernous maze. 

Lex moved surreptitiously, with not much to protect him other than his accelerated healing and a small revolver strapped to his ankle. Of course, there was also the black Kryptonite in his pocket but besides neutralizing effects of green kryptonite against Clark, he really was not sure how to use it. Martha was confused as he was when he brought the issue up.

Secondly, he hesitates because Lex was not sure _who_ Kal-El is or what his existence meant. Clark's destiny was as clouded to him as his own, muddled by rumors and lies Lionel told him over the years. One thine for sure, he did not want to hurt neither Clark nor Kal-El and Lex was not sure why because he had no issues hurting others, or lie, or cheat them out of everything they owned. He also singlehandedly brought on the deaths of thousands purely because of his rage at Clark for betraying his trust. Blood soaked his hands once, and Lex did not like that feeling.

"You would make a poor soldier," Kal-El's deep voice sounded in his ears and Lex whipped around.

Kal-El caught his wrist and yanked Lex towards him, catching him around the waist. "You should pay attention more to your surroundings when sneaking up on an enemy."

The grip he had on Lex's wrist was tight, bordering on pain but not crossing the line just yet. The caves did not offer much in the way of light. Kal-El's blue eyed glowed against the shadows of the planes of his face. 

"You're not an enemy," Lex stated as he forced himself to relax against Kal-El's hold. 

The Kryptonian stared at him, unblinking as he brushed a thumb over Lex's pulse and feel it jumped beneath the pad of his thumb. 

"And you won't hurt me. If you wanted to, you would have killed me at the mansion, not timed it so that Hope had the chance to catch me," Lex murmured, a half-smirk on his face despite the softness in his voice. "I know you."

"You don't." Kal-El argued. "You should stop searching for him. The one you know as Clark Kent is _dead_."

Lex stiffened and something in his expression angered the Kryptonian. 

In a split second, he was held against the flat walls of the cavern with an iron grip around his throat. Kal-El's thumb pressed against his left carotid pulse and soon, he was dizzy from lack of circulation and unable to draw a full breath. "And while Clark won't hurt you, _I will_."

Lex struggled against him fruitlessly, unable to even budge the grip around his throat as black spots begun to appear in his vision. "K-Kal-El."

The grip suddenly loosened and Lex slid down the cavern wall against the alien carvings and ancient depictions by the natives who once walked this land. He did not quite fall to the ground, managing to stay on his feet by leaning against the wall, coughing and wheezing as his lungs finally drew breath.

He stared at Kal-El through teared eyes with wet tracks on his cheeks. 

"You're a fool," Kal-El leaned against him, face pressed against the side of his neck just like Clark once had done. Lex realized with delight that Kal-El, somehow, someway, was Clark Kent.

"You should be scared of me."

That startled a raspy laugh from Lex as he tilted his head, breathing still a little hard and a little fast. He slid his hands into Kal-El's hair, an inch longer than Clark wore it, and petted him as he once did when Clark came to him for comfort. 

" _My destiny_ would not allow you to be so insolent." Kal-El spoke into his neck. 

_Screw destiny_ , Lex thought. 

"And what is your destiny Kal-El?" Lex asked, each word stronger as his throat heals and become marginally less painful. 

Kal-El didn't respond and after a long moment, he straightens, still holding onto Lex with his left, reached out to touch the embellished wall with his right. Lex partially twisted around to watch the walls lit up in alien designs with fascination and opened to reveal a stone altar--- a round, circular altar several yards in diameter, with central flat surface that glowed a soft blue light. There were indents in the center of the altar enough for three objects. 

A clear, diamond-shaped crystal floated in Kal-El's palm and Lex held his breath as the stone flew, settling into the center indent of the altar. 

"What is this---Kal-El!"

Lex's eyes widened when Kal-El lifted him off his feet and deposited him down on the edge of altar, his back hitting the flat stone surface, knocking the air out of him. His toes barely reached the ground over the edge of the altar, giving him no leverage to move from the vulnerable position. 

"That's right, say my name," the Kryptonian loomed over him, face set in grim determination. A _gentle_ yank from Kal-El tore open his shirt designed by some Italian fashion designer Tess has hired, revealing a smooth hairless chest. 

"What are you doing?" Lex demanded, struggling out of his grip in vain. Not panicking but not quite liking where this was going. 

"Say my name," Kal-El demanded again. 

Lex lets out a frustrated growl. "Kal-El," he grounded out.

Kal-El practically radiated unhappiness as he stared blankly down at Lex. He held Lex down easily enough with one arm, the other grabbing his jaw and forcing Lex to face him. "I've decided you're mine, not Clark Kent's, not anyone's. You're my reward for choosing my destiny."

Frowning, Lex twisted his head away when Kal-El leaned down, avoiding the kiss. Kal-El ended up biting and nibbling on his neck as his free hand explored every inch of exposed skin.

"Stop," Lex grounded out, feeling things spiraling out of control. He felt his body stirring, replying to Kal-El's clumsy kisses and gentle touches with interest. "Kal-El stop! Kal-El!"

"Clark!" Lex shouted angrily, unsure if it was directed towards himself or Kal-El. 

The grip on Lex's wrists loosened just enough as Kal-El reared back in anger. Lex took the chance to wrap his hand around the geode in his pocket and slammed it into the Kryptonian's chest. 

To his surprise, the stone drew blood, cutting through Kal-El's skin as if it was butter. The stone begun to glow purple as a few drops of Kryptonian blood is spilled onto it. The light grew stronger and stronger until it engulfed them. 

In the light, Lex watched, stupefied as Kal-El/Clark becomes two identical beings. For a second, he stared at them, watching the expression on their faces morph into joy and the other want. _Clark_ and _Kal-El---_ before the twin images before him merged into one. 

The cave was flooded in darkness once again save for the soft blue glow of the altar and Lex was left half laying on the edge, watching the cavern ceiling as Kal-El, or Clark (?) collapsed on him. 

…

**_General_ ** _ **POV** _

At Smallville Medical Center, Jonathan Kent lies in a hospital bed at the end of a long corridor, surrounded by machines and tubing. The room was on the second floor, with sliding glass doors and one window.

Today was nurse Amy’s turn to performed physical therapy on the only comatose patient in Smallville since Jeremy Creek. Most patients, if they had required intubation, was transferred to Metropolis General. Jonathan Kent was a special case.

“Good morning, Mr. Kent.” Amy said in a sing-song voice as she entered the room and pulled the curtains back from the windows to let sunlight in. “Mrs. Kent said she’ll be by after lunch today. Told me to tell you and that she’s gonna sell the farm to Lex Luthor if you don’t wake—-Mr. Kent!!“

Amy let out a squeak when she saw Mr. Kent sitting up.

”Mr. Kent wait!” Amy slammed her hand on the red call button several times as her patient yanked out his breathing tube.

…


	17. Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was so hard to write...that's why it took like three freaking days.  
> @Inuhime: would you believe me if I said Jonathan Kent waking up from a coma is not a cliffhanger? It's really not.

Lex watched appreciatively from the living room window, sprawled on the sofa in Clark's hoodie and old jeans in the Kent's living room with his legs crossed and propped on the sofa arm, laptop on his lap.

Outside, Clark heaved a couple of rolls of hay that was as tall as Clark and just as wide, into the barn. The late Summer sun still proved to be a menace for Lex’s skin so he had chosen to stay indoors to finish up some paperwork on his laptop while Clark did his chores.

It was two days after the events at Kawatche caves and Lex was still digesting everything that happened. Martha had gone to the clinic for a follow-up visit with Jonathan, making sure everything was fine after being in a coma for three months. The woman did not ask a thing when Lex brought a half-dazed Clark home that night, wrapped them both up in love and an amazing homemade pot roast and peach cobbler. Then Lex crawled into Clark's bed and fell asleep. 

The next morning, Lex had questions. Like what was the altar for? What did the Stones of Power represent? And exact who or what was Kal-El of Krypton? And where Clark had disappeared to in the last three months?

And he had yet to ask Clark any of these questions because they boy kept avoiding straight conversation with him. 

The Clark that has woken up in the caves was not the boy that Lex left behind. There was still those shy glances, the blushes after Lex came out of the showers, the dimples that came out when he's pleased when Lex smiled at him. Yet when Lex attempts to lessened the distance between them, there was one part hesitation and if Lex did not know better, the other part was fear.

Perhaps he was wrong to leave Smallville and left Clark to his own devices, but Lex wanted a relationship that would last and it was purely too much effort to control Clark's growth. Clark would only rebel and Lex was nothing if not a crafty businessman, knowing when to push and when to pull back. There was enough foundation has been laid between them and letting their connection grow naturally was the best way to lead Clark to him. 

"Hey." 

"Hey yourself," Lex replied, looking up from his laptop at Clark who just came in from the front door. "All done?"

"Yeah," Clark said, sniffing at his shirt. "Let me go get a shower. Did mom make pie?"

"Yep, apple pie, Martha said to keep your hands off it by any means." Lex grinned inwardly to himself, face amused as Clark almost, _almost_ pouted. He got up to follow him into the kitchen and watched with sparkling eyes as Clark rummaged through the fridge. "I suppose you got to make up for not eating for three months."

"Um-hum," Clark said around a mouth full of pie. It was only Lex's awareness of Clark's moods that he knew that the would-be-superhero wanted to shut down on him, again. "Want some?"

"No thank you," Lex replied. He stared at Clark who ducked his eyes, resolutely not looking at Lex. "Fine," Lex continued in a dangerously soft voice. "We won't talk about it."

He turned his heels and left the kitchen. Clark found him upstairs with his laptop open again, sitting on Clark's bed, legs crossed. Lex ignored the puppy-dog stares Clark was giving him as he typed away at his computer. 

"What?" He finally said.

Clark crossed the room in a split second, before sitting down next to him. The bed bounce in response, almost knocking Lex's laptop off his legs if he was not propped against the headboard. Lex spared him a glance before going back to his laptop, where he was chatting with his newly hired investigator. However, she can wait. 

He heard Clark sigh. Then nothing, so Lex look up, finding a pair of green eyes gazing at him wistfully as he was something unattainable. "Can we talk?"

Lex put the laptop down on the bed, before sitting up straight to face him. There was six inches of space between their hands on the bed. Lex could practically feel the warmth that radiates from the Kryptonian. "You're the one that keeps pushing me away," Lex met his eyes. 

"I know...I--" Clark paused.

This was exactly why Clark did not end up with _him_ nor Lana. Every time he had a chance to explain, the tell the truth about himself, he runs away. 

"You keep running away," Lex continued after a long moment. "Did you know why I left?" He leaned forward until there was only inches between their lips. "Because you kept pushing me away. I don't want to know everything and I'm not going to push you to tell me everything. I just need to know if you're willing to make _this_ ," he gestured at himself and Clark, "work."

He watch Clark stare at the movements of his pink lips while his pupils dilate. He was wearing Clark's high school hoodie over old jeans and ride low on his hips. Anywhere else, Lex would not be caught dead wearing these clothes but he liked the look on Clark's eyes whenever he stared at Lex. 

He crawled into Clark's lap and instead of pushing him away, Clark hands automatically attached themselves to Lex's hip, thumb tracing the hip bones just above the lines of his jeans. "If you want me to stop, say it now and I'll go away," Lex murmured before leaning down, "forever," and sealed their lips in a kiss.

Clark's lips were full and soft against Lex, hesitant and forceful at the same time. The grip around his hips tightened and Clark pulled him down against him, chest to chest, his knees on either side of Clark's hips. The kiss became frantic. Lex breathing became faster and faster, lips parting to let Clark in. He tasted like cinnamon and peaches, smelled like hay and sawdust and _home_. 

"God you feel like a dream," Lex panted softly, pulling back, staring at Clark's face tenderly. 

"You're the one that feels like a dream," Clark murmured, burying his face into the smooth column of Lex's neck, nosing at his pulse. "I can't believe you're still here. How are you still here? How are you not turning me in? After what I-- I did? I was awake, I could feel what _he, I_ felt. He wouldn't have stopped and I-, I almost _raped_ you."

"Clark," Lex curled his fingers in Clark's hair, tugging on it gently as he urged Clark to face him. "I'm not a damsel in distress. I'm not as helpless as you think I am." He leaned down, pressing their foreheads together. "I _know_ how to protect myself," and Clark's weakness, not just weaken him but kill him, "but I choose not to because it's you. It's always been you."

"But _he-"_

"Kal-El _is_ you," Lex kissed the tip of his nose. "He's a part of you because you're not perfect, Clark. No one is." Including Lex himself, and the darkness inside him that years for _more_ even when he was the most powerful man on Earth. "That's what it means to be human."

"You don't understand," Clark gritted out, voice breaking. "Cassandra's seen it, I'm going to kill everyone, Lex. I'm going to hurt you. I don't know why, I don't know how, but I will."

Tears ran down Clark's face, the blue light in his eyes disappeared to leave the very human bright green eyes captured him the moment Clark pulled him out of the river.

Lex kissed at his tears, feeling something slowly shatter inside him, feeling things, _feelings_ , that he was not expecting to feel when Clark broke down in his arms. And Clark, he was not supposed to show weakness. He was not supposed to cry...at least not in front of :Lex. He supposed that was the difference between Lex Luthor the supervillain, Superman's arch nemesis, and Lex, _just Lex_. 

"Well it's a good thing I've never believed in fate."

…


	18. Lilah Connevus Lane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: sorry I was on a break, started working on some other stuff, but here's a new chapter! Please enjoy!
> 
> P.S. Started an original story in Vietnamese, not sure if I should post it here, it's not done yet. WIP. Any fans fluent in Vietnamese let me know and I'll post it.

Lex stared at the ceiling contemplatively as he tried to breath as gently as possible to not wake the head sleeping on his chest. Clark was amusing in his sleep, up to a point, but having a Kryptonian male deep asleep on top of you was not as enjoyable as it sound. Not with his Super-strength holding you down--- Clark’s chest over Lex’s abdomen, body slotted between Lex’s knees, arms wrapped around his waist with hands holding onto the bare skin of his hips, just beneath Clark’s shirt that he borrowed.

Lex couldn’t even shift to get comfortable, but…Clark was adorable, in a puppy dog kind of way, the soft unhappy snuffling sound he makes whenever Lex tried to get out from under him.

So Lex endured it, watching the moon rose and fall through the windows. They had talked, about their fathers, about Clark’s powers, and Lex’s accelerated healing. There were many things they did not talk about, like Clark’s origins, the caves, Kal-El, and how Lex knew so much about everything. There was a place and time for everything and last night was not long enough. They talked until they fell asleep and slept through the afternoon into the evening, skipping dinner. Now, Lex could not fall back to sleep and his stomach was starting to rumble.

In another world, another time, Lex could not even imagine holding Clark like this, nor imagine Clark feeling safe enough to fall asleep in his vicinity. In another time, they could not even bear the sight of each other.

“Mom’s home,” Clark’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

Lex looked down, seeing Clark’s scratchy chin now propped up against Lex’s sternum. “Get off,” he pushed at Clark to shift him off his body and watch him flop over onto the bed next to him.

Clark tilted his head. “Mom’s not alone, she’s with somebody.”

“Who?”

“I’m not sure, her voice is familiar though,” Clark replied, watching Lex crawled out of bed, green eyes bright as he stared at Lex's exposed skin.

Smirking, Lex straightened his clothes before heading downstairs with Clark at his heels.

Martha was supposed to be at the hospital with the elder Kent tonight and the fact that she came home with a _female_ made Lex fairly certain who she came home with. Though they were not supposed to meet again until the next day.

“Martha?” Lex called.

“In the kitchen,” Martha’s voice answered back through the kitchen and that was where he found her, serving a plate of chicken pot roast and chickpeas to a very young looking Lois Lane.

Lex put on his best business smile and nodded a greeting to Ms. Lane before his smile turned genuine on Martha. “I thought you’re staying at the hospital. How is Jonathan?”

“Ah yes, Helen says he’s doing much better than she expected. Probably a few months of physical therapy and he'll be good as new. I was going to stay the night, but I ran into Lois,” Martha replied, smiling. “Lois is---”

“Chloe’s cousin? Lois Lane?”

“You know her?” Ms. Lane looked up with curiosity and suspicion in her eyes. 

“I’m sorry for your loss, she was a friend of Clark and we had the chance to meet when I still lived here,” Lex murmured before Ms. Lane's curiosity took ahold of her. One thing if it was coming from Clark, another entirely from a female that Lex was not attracted to. Hell, he hated Lois Lane. Second, it would be a lie to say that he missed Chloe, considering that the girl was still very much alive.

“Aww sweetheart,” Martha crooned softly, giving Lois’ shoulders a squeeze as Lex backed out of the kitchen into the living room.

Lois gave a sniffle, but no tears fell. Lex silently thanked his ancestors as Clark broke the silent and sat down with a portion of his mother's cooking after kissing her on the cheek as greeting. Clark sat unnecessarily close to them, only making room for Martha to join them, of course.

Perhaps their closeness was in their body language, something Ms. Lane was an expert at reading, because Ms. Lane was now staring at them with curious green eyes.

Out of Clark’s eyesight, Lex gave her a Cheshire’s smile. "I haven't introduced myself, Lex Luthor."

Recognition sparked in Ms. Lane's eyes as she peered at Lex suspiciously from head to toe, gaze hot as if she could see through his businessman façade. 

"Dinner?" Martha asked, interrupting whatever thought process Lois had going and reminding Lex that he should be on his best behavior and not antagonize the woman who made his life hell for several years. 

"Yes please," Lex replied and not before long, the kitchen was smelling of freshly warmed chicken pot roast. 

Conversation was light and Martha proceeded to set Lois up in the guest bedroom on the ground floor, announcing that she wound be staying here as a renter while attending Metropolis University. Lex retreated to Clark's bedroom, laying out the sleeping bag on the floor so at least they could pretend to not sleep in the same bed. It was also another choice for him in case Clark decided to use him as a body pillow again, without moving onto something a little more satisfying.

Clark was brushing his teeth from the doorway as he stared at Lex kneeling on the ground, gaze so intense that Lex could practically feel it on his ass. Not turning around, Lex asked, "you want to take a picture of that Kent?"

He glanced around to see Clark glancing away shyly, a blush tinting at his cheeks. Clark gave him a glare at Lex's smirk before turning to go back into the hallway bathroom to spit out the toothpaste. 

"I'm not staying here permanently," Lex said, following him into the bathroom.

Clark gave him an unreadable look that clearly meant that he was unhappy. "Here in Smallville? Are you leaving Metropolis again?"

"No, I'm officially behind-the-curtains now," Lex said, "they won't need me, for at least for the next few years." Back to the Luthor mansion on Lowell hill. "I can't stay here, _in this house_ , forever; my strange work hours would drive your parents insane." No, the elder Mr. Kent would probably take him out back and shoot him if it meant keeping him away from Clark. Of course, nothing would be said if Clark was the one who came looking for him. 

Not to mention that he had an empire to run and metahumans to recruit into his employment. 

"You can stay here until the summer's end at least," Clark persisted. 

"Or, you can always crash at Lowell Hill with me," Lex suggested.

"You're moving back to Smallville?"

Lex was very pleased with the bright look on Clark's face and completely did not expect it when Clark grabbed him, spun around before flopping them both onto the bed. The bed collapsed as the legs broke, resulting in a large _thud_.

It was _not_ a squeak that came out of his mouth and that was not Martha knocking on Clark's bedroom door asking if they were all right.

"We're fine! I just dropped something that's all," Clark answered, picking up the toothbrush that had fallen on the bed.

Not that Lex was not an adult man who was afraid of a 90 lbs. female that was half his size, but Martha was once in a future, was a senator, one who took _him_ on and won. Lex had rights to be afraid of that woman. 

Once they settled back into bed, with Clark's curled around him contently and Lex drifting off to sleep. 

“I went to Chloe’s grave today,” Clark said, jolting him awake and it only years of sleeping lightly and guarded that kept him from completely freezing up because he was caught off-guard. “I think she’s alive.”

Of course, Lex thought. “Why do you think that?” He asked, knowing perfectly why.

”Um, uh I looked at the coffin, well, through the coffin. There’s nothing in the coffin. No body.”

And six feet of dirt. Lex resisted the urge to groan in annoyance at himself for not having a lead and kryptonite coffin made. Pondering about his next steps, Lex twisted around to face Clark. He was looking at Lex without any suspicion. There was no baiting, no attempt at manipulation, and that made Lex all the more hesitant about lying. 

”I... well, Chloe, she _is_ alive.”

…

Lex and Clark arrived at the mansion at about two in the afternoon just as the summer sun crosses zenith. They pulled around to the back rather than into the garage, where a short runway had been paved sometime between when he finally finalized ownership of the Scottish castle. Julian was more than happy to sign it over for 2% of LuthorCorp stocks, which will ensure his rights to stay on the board if, well, when Lionel returns.

“Thank you,” Clark said again with a smile as the small private plane made its landing.

Lex smiled back, leaning against his Ferrari, watching Clark watch the plane intently until two females accompanied by a familiar face stepped off the plane.

The first female, with platinum straight blonde hair streaked with different shades of violet that fell over her black hoodie, practically threw herself at Clark.

"Chloe?" Clark asked, staring at her with a stupefied expression on his face. 

Everything that was fundamentally Chloe was replaced, blue eyes rather than brown stared out of a familiar pixie-like face, cheek bones highlighted and altered with makeup and cat-eye eyeshadows. With the hoodie, tight leather skirt, and army-style messenger black, and the world-weary look in her eyes that spoke of one that had seen too much, no one would have recognized her to be the small-town girl from three months ago. 

"The one and only," Chloe grinned back, before flashing her wallet ID. "But it's Lilah now, Lilah Lane."

Clark's eyebrows got even higher as he glanced back at Lex who shrugged. "She picked it." 

"It's temporary though, right?"

Lex nodded while Chloe grinned. "Until my father gets over his petty grudge." Though petty might not be the best thing to use considering that Chloe did throw him in jail but in all fairness, he sent a metahuman assassin for a seventeen-year-old girl. At that least that's what she was on the surface and the rest is Chloe's right to tell Clark. Lex only had a hand in opening doors for her to learn what she needed to survive. The rest was on her. 

Clark's brows drew together. "Is it that dangerous?"

"It's more dangerous if we keep standing here discussing the world's secret out in the open," Hope interjected from behind them. She and Jeremy Creek had surreptitiously collected their luggage, most of them being carried by Jeremy.

"Hope," Lex smiled. "Jeremy."

"Boss." Jeremy replied. 

Patting Clark's shoulders at the further confusion on his face, Lex pulled him in the direction of the mansion.

As it turns out, explaining how he saved Chloe when she came to him for help was a lot easier the second time around. It was even easier with Chloe helping to explain the unfortunate animosity between Lex and his father, feeding Clark tidbits of examples that he fed her over time, including throwing his mother in Belle Reve until she committed suicide and the multiple occasions using Julian as leverage to get Lex to do what his father wanted. If Lex was being honest, his father's repeated attempt at control was laughable at best but neither Clark nor Chloe needed to know that.

Explaining how he subdued the assassin his father sent after Chloe was a bit trickier, since only Lex and Chloe was present during the attempt by Trent MacGowen, a metahuman, at his penthouse in Metropolis. They survived because Lex was proficient at firearms and landed three shots into MacGowen's chest from his Jericho when he came at Chloe with his razor-like arms, knocking him backwards. The metahuman ended up escaping as Mercy and Hope burst into his penthouse study. 

As for how Chloe came to being one of Lex's employee, Lex sadistically decide to leave that up to Chloe to explain herself. 

…


	19. Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: still me writing the story, except I'm not writing it on my phone so the grammar is a little better and style is a little different. Also it's been three months since I've last continued this story.

Dinner was a warm affair, with mostly Chloe catching up with Clark about what she has been up to the past three months. 

Her temporary name was Lilah Connevus Lane, a cousin, several times removed, from the Lanes of Metropolis. She _created_ the name out of an anagram of her own name, and with it started practically a different life as a exchange summer student in Europe, accompanied by the handsome Jeremy Creek. She chattered mindlessly about everything she did, every venue she ate at on Lex's dime and even dropped a few things she had learned while traveling. 

One thing she did not mention was that she traveled across Europe on Lex's behalf, looking for ancient artifacts that have to do with the Order of the Veritas, Naman, and anything related with green meteorites. Because, as it turns out, Clark was not the first Krypton that arrived on Earth. 

When all was said and done, Clark ended up leaving after dinner, a shy smile on his lips as he confessed to Lex that he would be fine getting home by himself, _on foot_ , rather than being picked up by his father.

This was progress. 

Three years ago, Clark would never confessed something like this so openly, especially with strangers watching them. They shared a chaste kiss that left Lex amused and a bit breathless in his garage, before watching Clark disappeared into the surrounding woods. 

Once Clark left, his meeting with Chloe finally became official. 

Well, official as he could while enjoying a glass of expensive _merlot_ while the teenager sipped on her hot chocolate while she recounted her infiltration missions. The most interesting news was a video report of a minicamera she had installed at one of Veritas rumored compounds, which had lasted long enough to send a stream of data before self-destructed upon being discovered.

"What is it?" Chloe asked, staring at the Mayan artifact that was currently being transported in a glass cage by a petite brunette in an orange business skirt-suit. Lex had known her as Dr. Bridgette Crosby, an associate of Dr. Swann. Owning the patent on the most recent facial recognition technology, Lex had tracked her across Europe, then America, and most recently, another lab owned by a shell company just happens to be right outside Metropolis. Even with his resources, he has yet to find out who owned that lab.

This was the same woman who approached Martha Kent and gave her the black Kryptonite in order to 'help' Clark. 

Another man appeared on the screen that made Lex's eyebrows rose even higher when he recognized a man who he had only seen in passing. His father's cellmate at Kansas State Penitentiary, Edgar Cole. 

Seems like everything leads back to his father. 

The video ended and Lex almost applauded Chloe for holding her tongue. Lex's mood had gone from deliriously happy with his newfound relationship with Clark to furious by being played by his father, _again_. Lionel Luthor always held his cards close to his chest. 

It took another few minutes for his mood to pass and he glanced at Chloe. "Do you believe in magic?"

"Excuse me?"

… 

Upon receiving the data Chloe had sent, a team from LLC HQ Metropolis has already be dispatched earlier that afternoon for the artifact. Lex disliked acting without having every piece of intel but having the Mayan artifact and studying a possible piece of Kryptonian technology has proven to be a bigger pull for Lex. Secondly, while he was a friend of LLC CEO, no one would ever connect the disinherited Luthor heir to LLC. Third, he supposedly had no knowledge of any of this, not of Naman, not of Veritas, and definitely not of the Stone of Powers. 

His father, while vindictive, knew that throwing Lex to the wolves would only prove a longer sentence for him, now that Lex made it as if the Teague and the other families has given up on his father. 

The artifact will soon be in his possession soon and no one besides his closest allies would know be the wiser. 

Well, if his team succeeds, but his people rarely fails--- Lex does not suffer fools or failures. 

The rest of her report was pretty perfunctorily, more details on the history of the Teague and other members of Veritas. Still, the legend of Naman to her was still a mystery, only a few members of Veritas believed that _Naman_ was Clark Kent. Others had a few different theories. What they do agree on, was that any power that existed should belong to them. Too bad Lex was too much like his father, believing that power was better held in his own hands than others. Of course, what made Lex different was that it does not have to be _his_ hand that power resides in. 

Lex was a control freak, but he was neither blind nor stupid, and a master manipulation thanks to Lionel Luthor. Power does not have to be in his hand to be useful. 

Chloe ended up staying the night rather than going home to her family. Her room was next to Jeremy on the first floor of the mansion. Suitable considering that Jeremy was her assigned bodyguard until MacGowen was in custody...or dead.

Lex did not particularly care for the former option since being in custody did not mean gone and Lex disliked having loose ends. And he would rather a dead and dangerous metahuman rather than an alive and dangerous one that he did not have any influence over. Secondly, the metahumans answers to his father, meaning more reasons to have MacGowen dispatched rather than recruited.

The next morning was a Friday and Lex headed to the city.

It was his father's first hearing to shorten his sentence and Lex wanted to be there in case his father was feeling generous about any further information he chooses to share. If his father did not, well, Lex did not mind increasing the frequency of hearings in order to negotiate his father's shorten sentences.

Furthermore, he needed to negotiate Chloe's freedom because really, his father deserved the jail sentence for murdering Lex's grandparents, proving that Lionel Luthor does not have a heart once again. 

Chloe, he knew, was perfectly happy with traveling throughout Europe doing the odd job for Lex, but it did not felt right especially with the coming school year. He remembered the woman Chloe grew up to be, strong, beautiful, and loyal to a fault. He wanted that woman again, but this time, to stand by him rather than against him, and giving her the opportunity to run away from her problems would only stunt that growth.

Arriving in the city, Hope updated him on a few things and going over the details of Lionel's trial a few months ago, he found the name _Genevieve Teague_ associated with money trail behind the funding of his father's bail bonds three months ago. Good thing it fell through when solid evidence, thanks to Chloe's investigation, surfaced anonymously at Metropolis PD as well as the newspapers, forcing the public trial even more public. Lex was almost certain that she was a member of the Order of the Veritas along with his father. Judging on what he remembers of the woman, she also shares Lionel’s ambition and certainly his bed for quite a long time.

His father was agreeable enough, agreeing to lift the hit he put out on Chloe Sullivan. A quick phone call to Dominic also secured MacGowen's location and therefore death sentence.

The next day, the hearing went on as planned and his father would only serve time for six more months as was promised.

Lex Luthor always keep his promises. 

As he left, Lionel Luthor once again stopped him, this time asking about how Julian was doing. Lex stared at him unblinkingly before replying that Excelsior had an excellent summer program and that he saw Julian every weekend through video chat, and that Julian was now solely in his custody even when his father will be released from jail.

"He won't turn out like me," Lex promised. "And definitely not like you."

Lionel stared at him almost sadly, _almost_. "Good."

The reply _almost_ gave Lex hope that his father did indeed care about his sons, but then he remembered the man was dying and death makes people do funny things. Lex could save him, he supposed, but Lex was too much like his father to risk doing something like that. Between Lionel and Clark, he could only picked one and he had already made his choice when he came to Lionel in order to find Clark and bring him back. 

"Goodbye, Lionel, I'll see you on Thanksgiving."

…

His last errand was a trip to LLC HQ Saturday morning. 

Since it was a personal errand to the lead-lined labs below LLQ, Lex did not bother with his signature business suit, but went in a comfortable navy Oxford sweater atop a silk button up and butter-soft jeans, black spade stud in his ear. It was a look he rarely affected when visiting his people and visible had an effect on Regan who just looked stunned when Lex exited his Maserati in the sub-garage of the building. 

"Problem?" Lex hummed. 

He knew he looked young out of the business suit but that did not meant he liked to be stared at, even by his own employees. Hope got out of the backseat, shaking her head in amusement. The glint in her eyes made Lex's instincts piqued because it said she knew something he did not. 

"Of course not," Regan replied after an awkward moment that was very unlike the suave man. 

They discussed stocks and the direction of LLC Metropolis overs tea and biscuits, with eggs, bacon, bagels and other selections on a separate table for his perusal, a rare show of wasting resources that Lex did not do often enough especially him being a Luthor. He enjoyed the finer things in life but spending time with the Kents also made him _appreciate_ his life as well. 

His phone buzzed halfway through the brunch, Mercy texting him that the courier have arrived at LLC with the Mayan artifact confirmed to be holding a strange object within, something not appreciable even with the current imaging technologies (CTs, X-rays, etc.) but released very similar magnetic waves as the green meteorite. 

Lex was very interested in these artifacts, especially because due to Clark Kent's existence, have proven to be alien in origin. Yet, its presence was very well known through the many secret societies dating back to the seventeenth century. Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux, an especially famous witch and influential French noblewoman in 17th century France, and an ancestor of the Lang's, have searched for the stones her entire life without finding them. No one knew everything about what the stones did, some say it had control over souls, others says elements. No one have ever had all three stones in one place.

A man of science, Lex never believed in magic before he was mysteriously transported back in time when the world ended up in flames.

"Lex?"

Silver-blue eyes gazed at Regan across the table, a sheepish smile crossing his lips. "Sorry, turns out I had more on my mind than I thought and you've seem to have everything in hand."

"Nothing to worry about, anything I could assist with?" Regan's British lilt would once-upon-a-time attract a horny Lex Luthor unfortunately, Regan was not a simple farm-boy, nor his mortal enemy. Second, romantic relations with his employees would only lead to angry disputes and Lex would rather not get shot any time soon. 

After a long pause, Lex wiped his mouth with a napkin and leaned back in his chair, slender fingers around the end of a champagne flute. "Perhaps you can." Fingers moved up to trace the rim of the flute. "I am in the possession of an object that is important to my...partner. I am uncertain what the object will do to our relationship if its existence was ever revealed. But a part of me is curious what would happen if I revealed it to him?

What would you do, Mr. Mathews?"

"I...I am of the opinion that whatever decision you make, be prepared and minimize any losses as possible. Although, I was not aware that you are in a relationship."

"Spoken like a true businessman," Lex smiled, ignoring Regan quiet query into his private life. While was Regan was a bit more than an employee, Lex had learned it the hard way by being shot several times, that mixing business and pleasure. 

Clark Kent, as always, was the exception. Hopefully, Lex had all his bases covered.

Thanking Regan for a delightful lunch, Lex took his leave.

… 


	20. Teenage Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N:  
> @LadyFancy69: I meant body wash. It's been corrected. TY!!  
> @Inuhime: yeah, that's cause Lex is pretty dam unique lol  
> @Cianolla: I did stop for awhile, mainly because I started writing something else lol. Sorry, I'm new to writing my own fics so I start and stop a lot. The plot/plan for this fic has been done up to the end of Arc 2 -- just need to be written.

The next few weeks was spent in Smallville, being the perfect, courteous boyfriend of one Clark Kent.

School had started and this year, Clark had decided to join the football team. He kept it from the elder Mr. Kent at first, who was recently released from the hospital after a full two weeks of physical therapy. Work at the farm was still mostly done by Clark who was probably stretching himself a bit thin at this point, judging by the defeated look on his face when Lex greeted him at the door and the way he fell asleep almost immediate, curled around Lex in his walnut-framed, Astoria grand sized bed at the mansion. 

It was not physical strain, but the strain of having a cold war with his father who did not had much faith in the same way all fathers did when their teenage child began driving. Of course, there was also the financial strain that had descended on the farm since the hospital bills for Mr. Kent began arriving home. Lex knew about them, not direct through the Kents of course, and if the Kent would have accepted, he would have offered to foot the hospital bill on the spot. 

At least Mr. Kent did not had the sour look on his face when Lex comes around the farm to hang out with Clark anymore, not since Martha told him that it was Lex who brought Clark home. It helped that Lex did not push his relationship with Clark any further than chaste kisses and hugs. Frankly, they have not had a lot of chances to be alone since school started, even with Lex now living in Smallville, and Clark was hesitant whenever they did move beyond kisses. If it was not for the visible signs of arousal every time they made out, Lex would have thought that he himself was the problem. 

The other part was that now that school was back in session, so were the metahumans with strange powers if not strange intentions that began cropping up once more in Smallville. 

The first was Trent MacGowen who finally surfaced after Lionel had given him up, vengeful and determined to finish his last job before going after probably Lionel Luthor for giving him up. Hope and Mercy was certainly ready for him and the metahuman was put down, body and all other evidence of his existence disintegrated as if he had never stepped foot in Smallville. Chloe returned to school.

The second was a bit more interesting since Luthor had not known about at all until Chloe came to let him know about Lana's being attacked by a girl who can cause hallucinations with a single kiss, putting her in the hospital. Then Chloe being Chloe, was grinning from ear to ear when she went to visit Lana after school, only to find Tina Greer and Smallville High new football coach, Jason Teague already present. 

Lex metaphorically patted her head, told her that he would look into it, and sent Chloe on her way.

Of course, Chloe had not been privy to the report Tina had sent him on Jason Teague when he and his mother approached Tina and Lana in Paris. Of course, because Tina was present, Jason had not succeeded in seducing Lana and only made his presence in the states, especially Smallville, more suspicious in Lana's eyes. 

And Lex did look into the matter and had both Abby and Dr. Elise Fine arrested. Meteorites-based chemicals and the technology Dr. Fine had used was studied and subsequently destroyed before Clark got involved.

There was a few things Clark could fight, green kryptonite was not one of them and Lex would be happy to take care of those particular metahumans.

Sunlight cast low against the tall windows of his grand bedroom, approaching night. Clark came right after football practice and would have to leave soon if he wanted some time to finish the chores on the farm and his homework. Lex did not begrudge him that, he himself being a workaholic when it was an especially important project that he had to oversee. He would forgo everything to finish the task he started.

The difference is, Lex was getting tired of playing nice, allowing Clark to pace their relationship. Something tells him that it was more than teenage shyness that was holding him back. Perhaps it had something to do with Kal-El's appearance, or even Cassandra's vision. Whatever it was, Lex was kind of done waiting because Clark, if allowed, would always rather run away from a problem. Something Lex thought was gone after last summer working for a crime boss in Metropolis and this past summer acting as Kal-El. 

"Stop thinking, I could hear your mind spinning," Clark murmured against his neck from behind him.

Lex made a small indignant noise to hide the full-body shiver as Clark's lips moved against the skin of his neck. "You're the one who wanted a nap. _I_ wanted to teach you how to play chess today." Clark was competitive and smart, and would have made a good chess player except, like a true teenager, he was too impatient. For Lex, he merely enjoyed beating Clark at something.

Turning around to face Clark, Lex found the teenage staring at him with dilated pupils, eyes a bright blue, lips parted. The last few weeks of working on the farm every day had tanned his skin even further. Even though he was fully dressed, Clark sprawled out on his bed was pushing at the edges of his self-control and Lex prided himself on his self-control.

"Hey," Lex said, giving in as he crawled onto his chest, ignoring the way the boy, almost a man, froze underneath him like deer-in-the-headlights. "Hey, I'm here. It's just me."

"Lex," Clark grounded warningly out as Lex sat on his hip, arms instinctively wrapping around Lex's waist, grip just on the right side of being too tight. 

"Hey, sweetheart, look at me," Lex murmured, keeping his hips still as he massaged Clark's shoulders. "It's just me. Relax."

"Lex I need you to get off," Clark said, clenching his eyes shut, stirring arousal that could be felt even through two layers of clothing. 

"Is that what you really want me to do, Clark?" Lex murmured, continuing to massage the tenseness out of his shoulders. "If that's what you want, I'll stop, but I won't be in Smallville this weekend, won't see you until next week."

Clark's eyes snapped open, the grip on his waist is definitely going to leave bruises. Lex did not mind, they would be gone within hours. "I thought you're working from home now."

"I am, but it's my birthday this Friday," Lex replied, voice becoming wry. "It's impossible, I know, but I have friends who wants to throw me a birthday party Friday night. I'm turning 21."

Something dark crossed Clark's expression before it disappeared. Lex definitely would have thought he had imagined it if he had not seen it a thousand times on Superman whenever they went up against each other, or when Lex dealt a particularly vicious blow.

"If you'd like, I'd like you to come to Metropolis with me this weekend," Lex murmured, slender pale fingers curling into the Clark's dark curls at the nape of his neck, Clark skin was practically bronze against the paleness of his fingers. Clark's breath caught, pupils blown open and eyes practically glowing as Lex leaned down, their face inches apart. 

Lex grounded against Clark's erection, feeling the rough jeans rubbed against his pants, leaning down for a kiss. 

A split second later, he was toppling over thin air onto his bed, _alone in his bed_ , doors slamming close hard enough to shiver the walls.

… 

To say that he was furious was an understatement.

Even Mercy, who was accompanying him this week alone since Hope finally used her vacation time to travel to some weird country in Africa, was worried about his behavior. Lex, who was normally meticulous, manipulative, and obsessive, was refusing to answer phone calls from one Clark Kent, the object of his obsession for the last four years.

Currently, he was hiding out at Talon's, phone safely tucked away in Mercy's suit pocket who was screening his calls. He had even refused to go to Clark's first football game, which was happening right now at Smallville High, where everyone is right now. Even Martha, who last week had began working as the manager for Talon's, is at the game cheering her son on. 

His laptop on his lap, coffee in hand, Lex thought himself perfectly content looking over the final designs for LLC most recent lines of _smart_ phones.

Mercy sat at the bar, flipping through some fashion magazines and occasionally shot him some exasperated looks. 

"You know, you should talk with the poor boy," Mercy said.

Lex continued to ignored her in favor of opening up his email.

"Your phone is buzzing again, bet he's trying to ask why you aren't at the high school."

"Mercy," Lex warned, eyes flicking up for a split second before back down to his laptop. "If he wants to talk to me, he knows how to find me."

While outwardly calm, Lex's mind was nothing but. His mind in turmoil caught up in the same script over and over again, including his lack of confidence in any of his decisions concerning Clark Kent. Was it wrong for him to leave? Did he came back too early? Should he have tried to control Clark more? Or perhaps he was in the wrong last night by pushing too much? Too soon?

Every question made him wonder whether whatever it was between him and Clark would ever work out. Perhaps it was never meant to be.

Lex had done relationships, most of them ended in violence and death. Even when he tried his damndest to be _good_ but it has never worked out for him before in his last timeline, why would it do so now?

Lex sighed, shutting his laptop and throwing it onto the cushioned seat next to him, leaned back and rubbed his hands over his eyes.

Maybe he just can't help himself but push.

"Let's go home," he said to Mercy without opening his eyes. Maybe he needed to see his brother again, it's been far too long since summer break and seeing Julian can remind him that the future _can_ indeed be changed.

… 

Friday evening came and phone calls from Clark stopped sometime around noon that day, probably during lunchtime at Smallville High. 

Lex stared at the man in the mirror and a pair of taunting silver-blue eyes stared him back. Bald, dark blue diamond stud in one ear, coupled with a pale, subdued blue button up and gray suit. Something a little different for his darker mood. The man in the mirror was not classically handsome, a bit too soft around the edges, skin too pale, and the only hair he had on his body was his eyelashes, and they framed a pair of eyes that was too intense, too cold. 

But Lex makes up for it by being a Luthor, by having the social grace of a prince, a fit physique, and a silver tongue that could convince the devil himself to take a bad deal. He has never once gotten settled for the shorter end of a stick despite his shortcomings.

So for the love of God, why was he--

"You're thinking too much again."

Lex stared unblinkingly at the man, standing at his doorway. He need to have a word with his staff. 

Clark appeared nervous as he stood against the wooden doorframe, dressed up in a navy button up, one of the few non-plaid shirts he had, and a pair of jeans that Lex had personally picked out for him. The outfit made him looked a few years older than his seventeen years and brought out the blue glint in his green eyes. Seen just between his collarbone underneath his shirt was the chain belonging to the black Kryptonian necklace Lex had given him three years ago.

In the mirror, Clark shifted under his gaze and Lex took pity on him.

"I didn't think you'd come."

"I, uh, didn't think you would want me to, after, ah that."

Lex bit back an angry retort. Silence stretches between them as Lex turned his attention back on himself, finished button up his shirt and slipped on the suit jacket before turning to face Clark. "No, I shouldn't have pushed." _You're not ready_ , was the unspoken words. 

Moving past Clark, Lex tilted his head invitation when he did not follow. "Aren't you coming?"

The car ride was tense and Lex did not feel like it was on him to ease the conversation. The ball was in Clark's court and if Clark wanted anything else from him, he would have to ask for it. While the tactic was indeed childish, Lex felt completely justified because the last few weeks, no matter what they did, their relationship has not moved forward. Lex needed to solidify whatever it is that was going on between them and looking back, every time their relationship took a step forward, it was because of some supernatural or life-threatening event. He needed this relationship to progress because _Clark_ wanted it.

Pulling up to Club Zero, Lex only paused long enough for Clark to exit the car before entering the club. Much to his pleasure, Clark kept up with him without being asked to, following closely at his heels due to the masses of moving people on the ground floor. There was strobe lights and thrumming music, and multitudes of hands and other limbs brushing against them as they moved towards the VIP stairs. Clark looked more than comfortable, probably due to his stint as a criminal last Summer. Given that he was under the influence of red kryptonite, Lex was unsure how he felt about it. 

A part of him was glad that Clark had the potential to be, well, _a_ _criminal_ , but at he same time, Lex pondered: would a truly evil Clark even appealed to him? Considering that he left a resurrected, conscienceless Superman for the boy who showed what it meant to be _good,_ Lex thought not. The same boy who only strived to do _good_.

Granted, he was also acting for his own benefit. He liked having the upper hand and in control. Clark would yield to Lex if he fought for it while Superman would never even see him as his equal. 

"Lex!" Lex heard his name the moment he reached the second floor, then subsequently tackled.

"Duncan," Lex said warningly, though he allowed the hug to happen before dislodging himself. He gestured to Clark. "Duncan, Clark, Clark, this is Duncan." He glanced around, spotting a few familiar faces from Excelsior. "I thought you were booking the entire club."

"I did. When they all heard what the party was for, they all wanted an invite." Duncan said, "you're famous in our circle."

"I would have thought my father's conviction would get me evicted," Lex commented, and it partially did. He had not had an invite to any charity balls since his father's trial though the fact that his public IT company was still profiting was changing that. It did suffer some in terms of unsigned contracts falling through, however, most patents were still making enough interest that there was no real damage to several deals falling through. Second, the public fact that LLC did not rescind any contracts with LexCorp 'encouraged' others to not to as well, cementing the fact that Lex was a 'close friend' with LLC's CEO.

To the public it was a financial disaster what his father had done to his personal company, but realistically, Lex did not even lift a finger and the whole ordeal was already swept beneath the rugs and buried. Financial interest was the only thing of value in the eyes of the rich and famous. 

"Only those with their nose stuck in the clouds," Duncan replied. "Or dumb enough that they can't even separate you from your father, especially after he disowned you last year."

"Thank you," Lex said earnestly before gesturing at Clark who was standing to his left. A quick glanced told him that the boy was unhappy, despite the neutral expression on his face. "This is Clark Kent, a friend from Smallville."

"Nice to meet ya," Duncan said cheerfully. "Come on, let's get the night started!"

… 


End file.
